


Until You're Big Enough

by twentyone_phangirls



Category: Twenty One Pilots, joshler - Fandom
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Just a pinch of angst, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Science, Self-Harm, Size Difference, Smut, Socially Awkward Tyler, don't ask how just wait, josh is 2 inches tall, tiny!josh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-18 16:57:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 44,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7323400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twentyone_phangirls/pseuds/twentyone_phangirls
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler has social issues, so his therapist gives him a best friend that isn't really the average human.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Tyler finally decide that it's time to get some help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *WARNING*  
> If you continue to read after this chapter we are officially best friends~

The sun was sitting on the horizon, unleashing an auburn glow that traveled across Columbus, Ohio where a studio apartment lied with white walls and oak floors. It was quite peaceful within the home filled with small novelties, instruments, and forlorn socks hidden in unexpected spaces. Mark would even say today felt calmer than usual as he claimed his second bottle of beer.

“Moving on,” he said before taking a swig of the cold beverage. “What do you think about Citizen? I find their music pretty impressive at the most.”

Tyler was sitting on the other couch to the right of him. “I enjoy them,” he said before drifting his eyes out towards the scenery beyond the two windows displayed on both sides of his fireplace.

“They kind of remind me of your old band to be honest.”

Tyler’s eyes switched back to his slightly intoxicated friend.

“What was the name of it again? Oh yeah, Twenty One Pilots. You guys were sick.”

Tyler shuffled further back into the crease of the couch, clearly trying to escape the conversation. It wasn’t working.

“Look, Tyler I know that you and Nick weren’t on the of best terms but-”

“Nick never cared about anyone but himself.” Tyler scowled with his fists curling where they sat on his thighs. “He believed that the band would be nothing without him, but truly, he would be nothing without us... and he was.”

“Okay okay, I didn’t mean to trigger any Vietnam flashbacks or whatever.” Mark held his hands up in defense and watched Tyler slowly downgrade from his tense attitude. He couldn't help but to let out a few chuckles before reading the time off his watch. He was already getting pretty hungry. “What do you want to eat tonight? Pizza?

“Sure” Tyler replied.

“What do you want on it?”

“Pepperoni if that’s ok with-”

“You got it Princess.”

Tyler sat back onto the couch and averted his eyes to soak in the last rays of sunlight. It’s not that he didn’t enjoy being a part of Twenty One Pilots. In fact, he would say that he missed it; being on the road they all claimed to be their home, playing in small record stores, bars, parking lots, and just about anywhere else they could play a few songs or two. 

However, sometimes when the going is good an individual can feel as if they are the reason for that good, and only them. Sometimes that certain individual can feel as if in order to make the good better for them, they need to get rid of anyone else supposedly getting their share of it...

“Hey Tyler.”

Tyler took his eyes away from the darkened sky to focus on Mark who was shrugging on his leather jacket.

“Are you going to be okay here by yourself? I gotta pick up the pizza.”

“Of course.”

“Alright cool. I promise I won’t take too long,” Mark promised and with one last glance over his shoulder, he shut the door and locked it.

Tyler was left alone to his own devices and really didn’t know what else to do, so he got up to throw away Mark’s abandoned beers. He didn’t complain about cleaning up his mess. Matter of fact, this is what Tyler use to do with his old band mates since he was usually the only one sober enough to clean up what was supposed to be only “a few beers”, but one night he wasn't able to clean up any empty bottles. They were all shattered from being thrown across Tyler's basement, clearly aiming towards his head that was lucky enough to miss the intrusion.

It was during the last night of Twenty One Pilots. The night when the only two members left were Nick and Tyler who were in a argument concerning Tyler’s ex-fiancé, and Nick couldn’t seem to get the word _ex_ through his thick skull that had grown over all those years. “Tyler, how do you expect _me_ to trust _you_ when you don’t even trust yourself?” Those words were a turning point for Tyler and left him questioning why didn’t he trust himself. Better yet, how? His thoughts were then interrupted by his phone with one unread message. It was Mark.

-

**Hey can u go on and pick out a movie to watch with the pizza? Thx**

-

Tyler put his phone back into sleep mode before heading over to his movie collection. Tyler was no good at decision making, especially for other people. Throughout his life, Tyler always seemed to choose the wrong thing let it be what to have for lunch or even which shirt to wear that day. His luck was literally no good when it came to making choices, and that explained why none of his friends left him to make a decision for them, or in Mark's case, they would forget.

He felt as if whenever he made a choice for others he was already expected to choose something that everyone liked, but no matter what, he always seemed to leave someone unpleased. It happened so many times that now it’s hard to even trust himself to make his own decisions, thinking that he would choose wrong. Tyler couldn't escape all the time though. Such as now, as he was choosing a movie to watch with his best friend who he knew wasn’t picky at all, but still.

He scrolled through the movies, mentally crossing out the ones that surely would be boring for his best friend. He then settled for _The Avengers_. That was a good movie right? Tyler put the movie in and nervously waited for Mark’s arrival. When Mark arrived he sat the food on the coffee table and Tyler watched as he glanced up at the television. “The Avengers? Again? Well, I guess we might as well watch the second one too huh?” Tyler was disappointed in himself, thinking that Mark was upset with his decision. He had messed up _again._

“I-I’m sorry I’ll just choose another one real quick.”

Tyler rushed to take the disk out, but Mark was quick to stop him from pressing the button.

“Hey calm down I was just joking.”

Tyler looked into Mark's eyes, searching for any signs to prove that he wasn’t telling the truth. He found none.

“Right” Tyler said before moving his hand away from the dvd player. His heart was still fighting to calm itself down.

“Oh that reminds me,” Mark said with a look of concern on his face. “I gotta talk to you about something. Let's go sit down.”

They sat down on the couch. Mark was first to speak.

“So there’s this guy that I know...”

“Okay” Tyler replied, urging Mark to continue.

“He’s a psychologist”

_Oh_

Mark scratched the back of his neck. “I told him about your social issues and he said that he would like to help. I already scheduled you an appointment so don’t bother calling in.”

“And you did all this behind my back?” Tyler asked, feeling a bit betrayed that his best friend did something without him knowing.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t really matter right?”

“... Right.”

“See I knew you would understand,” Mark said in relief before placing his hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “I’m doing this because I care for you okay? You have a problem that can be fixed and I believe that Brendon is the perfect guy.”

“And why would you say that?”

“I dunno. He just seems like the one.”

“Okay sure,” Tyler said as he reached for his slice of pizza. “I’m just not sure about this that’s all.”

“Well it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“I guess.” Tyler pressed the remote to start the movie and Mark reached to grab a blanket to spread over their legs.

“We’ll be seeing him tomorrow after work, so be ready.”

“Okay”

Tyler never thought that he would have to see a psychologist before, but maybe Mark was right. Maybe he did need help with getting over his problem. Maybe they would be able to fix things after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Tyler see Tyler's phycologist and Josh makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. I also made a correction to Josh's size. Thx for the happy comments :)

This morning was particularly tranquil, soft, painted in hues of saffron, rose and apricot. Tyler woke up to the birds softly chirping outside his window while adoring the bright, silver light beaming onto the velvet blanket pulled up to his chin. The tv was, as expected, still turned on from last night and Tyler looked to see Mark finally awakening as well. His bed hair was partly amusing.

“Morning sleepy head,” Tyler spoke from his spot on the couch. Mark rubbed his tired eyes.

“Morning, did you sleep well?”

“I’ve had better nights.” Tyler sat up to get in his morning stretches. “I think I’m going to take a shower first today.”

“You go do that,” Mark said and watched Tyler maneuver off the couch and down the hall.

The shower was set just right for Tyler. He started by washing his hair, and surprisingly enough, he did not hear the squeezing of shampoo into his hand. He did not feel the cool touch of gel in his hair that was cleaning and foaming in sync. Instead his head was in the clouds, thinking about Twenty One Pilots. Tyler tried to block the thoughts out but little snippets seemed to just fall through the cracks

_“Tyler when will you finally realize that no one is here to hold your hand?”_

He scrubbed harder at his scalp, nails tangling even more in his fringe.

_“Life is harder than you think. Isn’t it?”_

Tyler’s hands quickened their movements; they seemed almost frantic.

_“Make a choice goddamit!”_

“I can’t!” Tyler yelled through gritted teeth and was startled to hear a few sharp knocks on the bathroom door.

“Tyler, are you alright in there?”

 _Better than ever_ , Tyler thought to himself before finally rinsing the shampoo out of his hair.

“Everything is just fine Mark.”

“What?”

Tyler removed his head from underneath the rushing stream of water. “I said everything’s fine!”

“Oh okay. Why didn’t you just say so?”

Tyler could sense the coy smirk on Mark’s face even through the separating door. He pushed the thought away and hoped to be able to finish the rest of his shower in peace. He then got dressed for work before leaving his studio apartment with Mark.

The ride to work was not as long as Tyler wanted it to be, but truthfully, working at a music store wasn’t the worst job in the world. It was just being away from home and having to interact with strangers that made Tyler feel a bit uncomfortable. Speaking of which, it didn’t take long for some scrawny amateur guitarist to step up to Tyler, asking for him to choose between two guitar straps that honestly looked pretty identical.

“Well...umm…” Tyler took multiple glances between each guitar strap, wishing that he could just tell the customer to buy both if he had so much trouble deciding himself. However, that would be considered rude to his manager, even if the manager happened to be his very best friend.

“Sir do you have a question?”

Speaking of his best friend,

“Well sir I believe those straps happen to be the same. Why don’t we go look at some other varieties.”

Tyler knew he wasn’t crazy. He watched the two walk off to the accessories department, not missing the small wink Mark sent back at him in the corner of his eye. He was a bit embarrassed, but relieved. After taking care of the client, Mark came back over to Tyler for a small check up.

“You alright there buddy?” He asked while patting Tyler on the back. Tyler blushed.

“I guess. Thanks for saving me once again.”

“No problem.”

Mark and Tyler returned to their stations and soon enough it was already time for their shifts to end. They waited until the co-workers in charge of the night shift got settled in before leaving to go see Tyler’s psychologist. Dr. Urie mainly saw his patients at his home office, so Mark and Tyler drove all the way to his million dollar penthouse on the more snobby side of town that made Mark’s small Nissan look like a tow-truck compared to the fancy cars driving past them. They reached their destination five minutes early before riding the elevator up to the second to highest floor. A maid invited them in and escorted them to Brendon’s office.

“Mr. Urie will be with you in five minutes,” the raven said before returning back to her work. Mark and Tyler took a seat in the two leather arm chairs seated in front of the oak desk. Tyler gave Mark a slight glare for pulling him into this, but Mark simply whispered back, “Let’s just try.”

_Try what? Try to embarrass me? Try to push me towards my limit as an awkward individual in hopes to scar me for life?_

Both of their attention was then directed towards the door opening and closing behind them. Mark stood up with the widest shit eating grin he could ever manage.

“Brendon it’s so nice to see you again.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Brendon spoke with much confidence. “And this must be-”

“Tyler” Mark said while tugging for his friend to stand up as well. “Tyler Joseph”

“Nice to meet you Tyler.”

“Same here,” Tyler replied, shaking hands with the psychologist before returning back to his seat.

“Let’s begin shall we?”

Brendon took out his tape recorder and notepad. He then cleared his throat.

“So Tyler, why are you unsure of your actions?”

Tyler was taken back by the question.

“Let me rephrase that,” Brendon began with his pen already tapping against his notepad. “When did you first start questioning yourself?”

Tyler thought for a moment, “I guess it started in middle school when I first started dealing with peer pressure.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well that’s when I actually started caring about what people thought and said about me.”

“Would you say that was also the start of your insecurities?”

“Yes”

Brendon wrote down what he knew so far.

“Can you tell me about your life at home?”

 _Why does it matter?_ Tyler asked himself before looking Brendon in the eyes again. “I live alone.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes”

Brendon took a moment to adjust his glasses. “Alright, moving on then.” He started a new sheet of paper. “Why do you think you have trust issues?”

Tyler squirmed a little in his chair. “I’ve been kicked down by so many people throughout my life that I just stopped making decisions or become very nervous when having to make one.”

“Why are you nervous?”

“Because I’m scared that I won’t make everyone happy.”

Brendon stopped writing after hearing those words. That was just what he needed to hear.

“Okay I think I see the problem here,” Brendon said while removing his glasses. “I think the problem you're facing today is only a matter of sociality. You say you want to make everyone happy. This is a very common social trap that most people can get caught in, usually making it harder for them to make decisions for people and eventually themselves.”

“No kidding,” Mark mumbled underneath his breath.

“You do know that you can’t please everyone right Tyler?”

Tyler nodded his head.

“Good” Brendon sat back a little in his chair. “So for now on I highly suggest trying your best to try to forget about pleasing your peers overall. Then, gradually start giving yourself a little more responsibility such as, choosing what movie to watch for movie nights or plans for the weekend. Of course if this sounds a little too hard for you there is an alternate way.”

“Can I hear the alternate choice?” Tyler asked.

“Well I can’t tell you until you agree that you want the alternate treatment.”

“I want the alternate treatment.”

Brendon sighed, “Okay then you will have to sign these papers first.”

Tyler was given a thin stack of what looked like adoption papers.

“Adoption? Wait a second I don’t want any children at the moment.”

“I’m not giving you a child Mr. Joseph,” Brendon reassured. He then reached under his desk to retrieve a small wooden chest that was carved and decorated with small rhinestones and drilled holes. Once the papers were filed, Tyler was given the small chest as Brendon put away his items used for the meeting.

“This certain individual is suppose to be a helping hand for you to get over your trust issues,” Brendon explained to Tyler. “He is to be kept under your care and please have great responsibility with him.”

“Wait, so you are giving me a child.”

“Tyler what child is big enough to fit in a chest that small?” Mark asked from where he sat beside Tyler. “It’s probably a pet hamster or something.”

“Oh this is not a pet,” Brendon interrupted. “This is a very important being that should be treated as if he is your son; not that he is of course.”

“I understand,” Tyler promised before handing the signed papers over to Brendon.

“Good” Brendon approved before escorting the two out of  his office. “If you have any questions or problems with this type of arrangement please concern me before doing anything unnecessary, okay boys?”

“Of course,” Mark said. “We’ll keep in touch.”

They watched as the elevator doors finally closed in between them; Brendon on one side and Mark and Tyler on the other. The elevator began its journey down past flights of stairs.

“So how was it?” Mark asked as Tyler took a closer inspection of the box.”

“Not that bad to be honest.”

“See I told you,” Mark replied with much confidence. “What would you do without me?”

“Oh I can only imagine,” Tyler said as they made it back to Mark’s car to begin their journey home.

-

Back at Tyler’s apartment, Mark gathered his items and took one last beer from Tyler’s refrigerator.

“You’re not staying?” Tyler asked before placing the small chest on his dining table.

“No I have to get back home. My cat needs to be fed and stuff,” Mark said as he brushed past Tyler.

“Mark you don’t have a cat.”

“Well I do now,” He said from over his shoulder. “Good luck with whatever that is.” Mark gestured towards the small chest before leaving the apartment. Tyler shook his head before slipping his shoes off. He changed in his bedroom, and came back to the living room in a pair of sweats before grabbing the chest.

He made it over to his couch and peeked inside. He saw that what was hidden inside was a sleeping boy with red hair before quickly closing it, frozen in disbelieve. Tyler didn't get a good look at his face the first time so he tried again, this time seeing the whole body including folded extra clothes that Tyler guessed belonged to the boy. He watched the miniature human for a little longer until he was frightened by the small sneeze that unexpectedly came out of him. Tyler was quick to shut the chest once more, this time sitting it back on to the coffee table.

Just to think, right there in that small chest was a boy the same height as a business card, the same height as his sister’s first pair of 2 inch heels. This was insane. He stared at it for a while before letting out a few chuckles. What was going on? Tyler identified the situation as completely stupid before slipping back underneath the blanket on the couch. He shut his eyes, letting out one final chuckle before slipping away from his thoughts as he then fell asleep.

Moments later, Tyler was woken up by a small yell.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Tyler was quick to notice where the plea was coming from which happened to be the chest seated on his coffee table. He hesitated to open the chest for the small human that was now banging against the wood.

“Please, someone, _let me out!_ ”

Tyler's heart skipped a beat as he hurried to unlatch the chest before cracking it open. The boy inside looked tired and his voice was hoarse, but he still climbed out of the box with his slender legs. Tyler inched further back on the couch cushions and watched the boy stretch and finally look up at him with brown eyes.

“What’s your name?” Tyler asked, still in shock of the very, very tiny human beneath him.

“My name is Josh. Josh Dun.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler and Josh get to know eachother more.

No one spoke for a while. Tyler seemed to be frozen in place, astonished to see what was standing, literally standing, before him. Josh maybe wasn’t just as shocked, but couldn’t help to be overwhelmed from the new scenery that differed from his usual environment.

“What about you?”

“Come again?” Tyler asked after being taken out of his trance.

“What’s your name?” Josh turned around in a circle, checking out his surroundings. “And where am I?”

“I’m Tyler,” Tyler said, watching Josh with caution.“And you're in my apartment in Columbus, Ohio.”

“Ohio?” Josh asked with a puzzled expression. “I was just in California.”

“I guess you flew here then,” Tyler explained before gesturing towards the small boy. “So how did you, y'know, get so small?”

“It’s a long story,” Josh said, switching from foot to foot. “Can I have something to eat?”

“Yeah sure.” Tyler allowed Josh to walk onto the palm of his hand to be taken to the dining table. Josh waited as Tyler went to retrieve a handful of cheerios. Josh disapproved.

“This is the only thing I have that can fit your size at the moment, so please just work with it okay?” Tyler asked.

Josh looked back down at the cheerios and sat down before taking a bite from the dry cereal. Tyler gave Josh a look of approval before going back to see if there was anything else left in the chest Josh came in. Within the chest was a miniature toothbrush, a small purple sack of some powder, miniature clothes, blankets, books, and even a miniature stuff bear. Beneath the items was a small envelope with a bright red seal. Tyler opened the envelope to read the letter stashed inside.

-

_To whom this may concern,_

_The time has finally come when my son, Joshua Dun has been put under your care. As you may know, Joshua is not an average individual. Because of this I plead that you follow the attached rules so that the safety of my child will be guaranteed. I now understand that Joshua cannot spend the rest of his life with me. It took me a while, but I now see that I will always end up hurting the ones I’m closest to especially with my risky occupation. He is much more safe with you._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Laura Dun_

-

Tyler frowned. He fucking _knew it_.

He knew that Brendon was giving him his own child. How could he be so gullible? Tyler pinched the crease of his nose and decided that he would confront Mark about this later. For now he would just have to take care of “Joshua” until they could find him a new parent or something. Tyler took a look at the rules.

-

_Below are the following rules for the unique individual: Joshua Dun_

  1. _Shrink any meal he may receive throughout the day. Meals should not include fast food._
  2. _Never leave Joshua by himself_
  3. _Keep him inside the house at all times_
  4. _Joshua is only to drink water. This also means absolutely_ ** _no energy drinks_**
  5. _He is to be put to rest before 11:00 each night_
  6. _Re-dye his hair once every five to seven weeks_
  7. _Keep shrinking powder out of reach_
  8. _He may not have any connections with anyone apart of the outside world_
  9. _Do not lose Roger_
  10. _Joshua is forbidden from listening to alternative music. I highly recommend classical_



-

The rules made Tyler visibly cringe and he began to actually feel bad for the little guy. He remembered the rules his mom use to force him to follow: no video games on school nights and no leaving the dinner table until everyone was finished. His parents were both Christians, so life for him was very restricting. But this, this cringeful piece of paper filled with unnecessary rules was just god awful. Josh needed him more than anything.

Tyler then picked up the purple sack that contained the magic dust as described in the rules. He inspected the bag and opened it to see a glistering, gold powder that twinkled in the lights of his home. He then closed the bag. Tyler glanced over his shoulder to see Josh enjoying his third cheerio. He made his way back over to him.

“So Josh,” Tyler began before taking a seat in one of the dining chairs. “Where exactly did you come from again?”

“California”

“And who were you staying with?”

“My mom,” Josh said as he gave Tyler a questioning look. “Why do you ask?”

“Well I figured since you’re my child now I should at least try to get some understanding of who you are.”

“Wait, child?” Josh asked with his eyes big and wide. “Who said I was your… _child?_ ”

“I signed your adoption papers didn’t I? Plus, the letter clearly stated that your mom was handing you over to me.”

“Yeah as your housemate, not your son. The papers were basically telling you that you are responsible for me because I’m- well, speacial.”

“So you are identified, by law, as a pet?”

“Um sure, if that's how you want to think of it.”

“And I’m your owner.”

“Now let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Josh warned before getting back onto his feet. “I have just enough rights as you do.”

“Well technically-”

“Anyway,” Josh interrupted before dusting his hands off on his pants. “I haven’t taken a bath for a while now so it would be nice if you could make one for me.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Tyler asked, clearly referring to Josh’s size.

“Well you can shrink your bathtub.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Okay then grab a small bowl and fill it with water as if you’re making a bath. Just make sure it isn’t one that I can drown in.”

“Obviously” Tyler uttered as he was grabbing a small bowl to prepare Josh’s bath. He then walked to the bathroom where he filled it with water and bubbles. He went back to get Josh before placing him back into the bathroom by the bowl.

“Um Tyler?”

“Yeah Josh.” Tyler turned around to hear what he had to say.

“Can you grab me some clothes? A pair of boxers and sweats should be fine,” Josh nervously asked.

“Sure thing.”

Tyler retrieved the clothes from his chest and left Josh alone to bathe in peace. While Josh was bathing, Tyler searched his whole apartment to find something soft enough for his new “housemate” to sleep on. He was about to give up, but was finally able to discover a small bean bag from underneath his bed.

The bag was placed on his window sill overlooking the city with bright lights and racing cars. After changing into a more comfortable attire, Tyler heard his name being called from the bathroom. He opened the door to see a shirtless Josh with wet hair and drooping eyes. He carried Josh to his small “bed” and Josh inspected the red bean bag at first before crawling onto it, feeling the item move beneath him. Tyler wished him goodnight before walking towards his own bed.

“Wait”

Tyler paused when he heard Josh speak up from a distance, “what is it?”

Josh didn't respond for a moment, looking as if he wanted something and Tyler honestly would've given him whatever he wanted _and_ the whole world if he had asked. Josh shook his head and curled in on himself.

“Never mind”

 _Never mind?_ Tyler wore a concerned look on his face as he nodded and then crawled underneath his duvet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Josh is not Tyler's son I promise:)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh eats his first serving of pancakes and Tyler shows him new music.

Josh was first to wake up, opening his eyes to greet the morning sun flooding into Tyler’s room. Though there was just one problem, he had to pee, and Tyler was still sleeping peacefully in his own bed, not struggling to hold in his slipping bladder just like Josh who needed to think of something fast and he meant _fast_.

“Tyler” Josh called from where he sat on the red beanbag that was just too far away. Tyler was still asleep. He called out Tyler’s name some more, silently pleading that something would wake the human, anything. Josh finally gave up and decided to look around for something else to wake his sleeping housemate.

He searched and noticed the cactus placed not so far away from him on the window sill. He walked over to the plant and slid behind it, preparing to push the item off the sill until it landed onto the floor, creating a sound loud enough to hopefully wake Tyler. Within a few strong push, the plant finally fell onto the floor and, as expected, made a sound that sounded like the sky was splitting in two. Tyler woke up with a jolt and inspected his surroundings until his eyes landed upon a laughing Josh.

“What's so funny?” Tyler asked with a frown before noticing his well-fed cactus lifelessly lying on the floor like a mocking corpse as if _it_ was the joke. Josh was just finishing wiping the tears from his eyes before seeing the disappointed look on Tyler's face. Did the plant really mean that much to him?

“I’m… sorry?”

Tyler rubbed his temples, deciding that it was too early to get onto a tiny human, no, a miniature human about a plant that he shouldn't have been so attached to as much as he was according to Mark.

“What do you need Josh?”

“I have to pee.”

Tyler slipped out from beneath his duvet to take Josh to the bathroom. Once there, he saw how Josh couldn't pee with the toilet seat up. As much as he wanted to, Tyler forced himself to restrain his laughter for the sake of Josh who was just urging to relieve himself from his uncomfortable situation. He placed him on the ring of the toilet and decided to wait in the bathroom until Josh finished.

“Why are you still here?”

“Well, I don’t want you falling into the toilet do I?”

“Leave”

“But I-”

“Tyler just _leave_ ,” Josh commanded as the blush on his cheeks grew even more crimson.

“Okay okay, I'll just wait outside then.”

Tyler left the bathroom and when Josh finished he came back to go to the kitchen. There Tyler decided to make pancakes for breakfast. Josh watched Tyler maneuver around the kitchen, grabbing utensils all needed to make their breakfast and for a moment he wished that he could help but alas he was just too small.

“Hey Mark.”

Josh looked up at Tyler who was speaking on the phone.

“Yeah about that,” Tyler said as he skillfully flipped the pancake one handily. “I was wondering if I could take a few days off.”

Tyler listened for a moment.

“Thanks man.”

He placed the cooked pancake onto a small tray and soon there were two stacks of bronze pancakes. Josh had heard of pancakes before, seeing them being advertised on the television and even in the cooking magazines that his mom would bring home occasionally. But he never actually tasted pancakes or even smelled them, so Josh at the moment was already bubbling with excitement, mouth watering at the heavenly aroma filling up the kitchen.

“Alright well I'm about to eat breakfast with Josh so I'll call you later.”

“Yeah that's his name.”

“No I didn't name him. In fact, his full name is Joshua Dun.”

“That's what it said in the letter.”

“You'll see him next time you come here.”

“Alright see you soon.”

“Bye”

Tyler hung up the phone and saw Josh waiting impatiently for Tyler to take them where they were eating. Tyler gave him a small smile before carrying him to the breakfast bar. He then went back to get their pancakes including eating utensils and two glasses of orange juice. Tyler finally sat onto one of the bar stools, but Josh quickly stopped him.

“What's wrong?” Tyler asked and Josh gestured at his serving of pancakes as if the problem was so obvious; and it was.

“Oh yeah hold on a sec.” Tyler got up from his seat to get the purple sack from early on.

He hovered over Josh’s breakfast while sticking his fingers into the gold dust.

“So how do I do this?” Tyler asked.

“Each item gets a pinch of dust.”

“Which means…”

“Just sprinkle a little bit on everything.”

Tyler nodded and sprinkled the dust on Josh's pancakes, fork, and glass of orange juice. They watched as a dim, golden glow surrounded the items and then like magic, Josh’s breakfast shrunk right before their very eyes. When all was done, Josh happily began eating his breakfast as Tyler sat back down in his seat, astonished.

He never really believed in magic. Magic was just another fairy tale to him, something that parents would tell their children for them to believe in as if there was actually something good in the world. It was all a lie, but after seeing the bright glow of dust and  the minimizing of his belongings, he realized that maybe fairy tales did exist, or at least fairies because where else would he get pixie dust from? His fairy godmother?

“Tyler?”

Tyler focused back on his small friend who wiped his mouth on his arm.

“Yeah Josh?”

“Can we have pancakes for breakfast more often?” Josh asked with a tiny blush. “And I would like some more please.”

“Of course,” Tyler reassured before moving his untouched pancakes in front of Josh and grabbing the dust. “Is this your first time eating pancakes.”

“Yeah and thanks,” Josh said as the pancakes shrunk for him to eat. “My mom never made breakfast like this for me.”

“What did you eat then?”

“Cereal” Josh took a few sips of orange juice. “Sometimes she would let me have cut up strawberries, but yeah, I mostly ate cereal.”

“Sounds boring,” Tyler commented before getting up to grab himself a granola bar.

They finished their breakfast and Tyler allowed Josh to climb back on his hand.

“We should figure out an easier way for me to get around the house.”

“What, you don't like me carrying you?”

“It's not that,” Josh muttered. “It would be nice to have a little independence while I'm here that's all.”

“Right” Tyler uttered, not missing the way Josh tightly held onto his finger when his hand became a bit unsteady. They sat down on the couch.

“So how did you get around at your old house?”

“I was carried around.”

“Okay”

They paused.

“I'm just getting tired of having to be carried around all the time. It makes me feel a bit helpless, as if I can't take care of myself.”

“And your actions feel limited.”

“Yeah” Josh breathed out from where he was now seated on Tyler's thigh. “It's exactly like that.”

“Well I promise that we’ll figure something out,” Tyler said while turning on the tv and switching through the channels. He had once felt helpless before, so he had a good understanding of what Josh was going through. Plus, Josh didn't look young at all. He looked as if he could live on his own if he was bigger and probably wanted to. Tyler could only imagine being the age he was and still living with his parents, specifically his mom. The idea sounded horrid and made him feel a bit grateful that he wasn't in the same situation as Josh. He life might've sucked but not as much as Josh’s. His was already burning up in flames.

“So what do you think about the rules?” Tyler asked when he finally found something interesting to watch.

“God I hate those rules,” Josh said while showing interest in the show on the flat screen. “You can burn them for all I care.”

“Your mom said that we should follow them to keep you safe,” Tyler exclaimed. “But I have to admit, they're pretty ridiculous.”

“See? I'm not the crazy one here. It's her.”

“I think we should still follow them though.” Tyler adjusted his sitting position. “Not word for word but at least the basics.”

“Okay sure,” Josh agreed. “We already broke most of them anyways so what do we got to lose?”

“We haven't broken any rules.”

“Yet”

Tyler sighed and reached to grab Josh’s chest with all his belongings, sticking the note and rules into his back pocket. As much as he hated it, Josh was right. Even he knew that they would end up breaking all of the rules eventually.

And it scared him.

“I'm going to take your stuff to your bed,” Tyler said while moving Josh off his thigh for him to get up. Josh slid off him and sat on the plush blanket sloppily draped over the couch. Tyler placed Josh’s stuff on his window sill where his small beanbag sat. He was about to leave until his eyes landed upon his small record player by his bed.

 _Has Josh ever listened to music?_ Tyler asked himself before concluding that he probably had but not his kind of music, remembering the written rules that clearly stated that Josh was only to listen to classical. The thought sickened Tyler. He stood in the doorway a bit longer, questioning whether or not he should have Josh listen to a bit alternative.

It wasn’t like he would be doing anything wrong, and they were going to break all the rules eventually, right? Tyler debated a bit longer before finally grabbing the record player and his prized vinyl collection. He hoped to not end up regretting this.

When entering the living room, Tyler saw Josh highly immersed in the show he turned to not so long ago. His puppy dog eyes seemed to be glued to the screen from where he sat, legs lazily crossed and one hand on the side of his resting cheek. Tyler set up his vinyl record player beside one of the windows in the room. He spread out his vinyls before looking over his shoulder at a curious Josh.

“What are you doing?” Josh asked.

“I'm going to let you listen to a bit of my music.”

“With that thing?” Josh pointed towards the red record player.

“Yes, and it's called a vinyl record player,” Tyler explained before going to remove Josh from the couch. “I thought back to the set of rules I was given and realized  that you probably never listened to alternative before. Well, let's just say that rule bothered me the most.”

“Are we breaking the rules already?” Josh teased as Tyler sat him on yet another window sill. “I don't mind listening to music but I want my book to read.”

“Your book?” Tyler asked. “It's a book of poems my mom gave me to read. It's one of my favorites,” Josh admitted. “I know, I'm such a lame person.”

“No you're not lame at all,” Tyler quickly said. “I just didn't know you read books that's all.”

“I'm still human Tyler,” Josh pouted. “In fact, I probably read more than most normal sized humans out there.”

“If you say so,” Tyler said over his shoulder as he went to grab Josh's book of poems and something else too.

“Um Josh?”

“What's wrong?” Josh asked when Tyler stepped back into the living room with his book and- _oh no._

“You're not suppose to see that,” Josh said with his cheeks getting redder by the second. “Oh god I can't believe you found that."

“I'm guessing this is Roger,” Tyler teased while handing the book and stuffed bear to a very embarrassed Josh. “It's such a shame that you left him all alone by himself.”

“Shut up Tyler,” Josh uttered before seating the book on his lap and Roger beside him, out of Tyler's sight. “Why don't you go play that stupid music of yours.”

“Hey my music is not stupid,” Tyler said with a small grin on his face.

The day went on with Tyler fixing the strings of his ukulele and Josh cuddling Roger while flipping through his book of poems. The sun was setting on the horizon, illuminating Tyler's home with an all too familiar glow that put Tyler's Lebanese skin to shame.

Tyler looked up from his ukulele, glancing over to see Josh softly nodding his head to the drum solo playing through the room. Perhaps Josh would enjoy playing the drums; he looked like the drumming type after all. They chilled out until the sky turned to a tone of the darkest blue before falling asleep, Josh’s head resting against the glass window as Tyler curled up against the wall in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Archive wouldn't let me save my drafts :(


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh gets an insight of Tyler's social anxiety and Mark comes to visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, soooo I don't think I can forgive myself for not updating this fic because the reason for that is because Pokemon Go was finally released and I was catching pokemon while I should've been writing/updating... I'M SORRY
> 
> Oh and for all my life as short as the falling of snow readers (tiny!tyler fic) I have been writing more chapters on the sly so I can get it back and running again yayyy! Just hold on for a little bit longer while I do some finishing touches plss ily

The next day started off just about the same, Josh waking up from his spot by the window and Tyler startled awake once again to take him to the restroom. They stayed in the living room for most of the morning. Tyler took it upon himself to spruce up his instruments in the apartment as Josh decided to draw today on his usual spot beside one of the best views of Ohio. Weezer played in the background during this time, and as soon as the album came to an end, it was time for another to take its place.

“So what do you want to listen to next?” Tyler asked Josh, removing his hands from his well-cleaned bass guitar.

“Why don’t you pick this time.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I’ve chosen enough songs,” Josh said before erasing a bit of his drawing that needed to be redone.

“O-Okay sure.”

Tyler slowly felt himself slip into panic mode. Not only was he nervous to pick another album, but the fact that he knew nothing about Josh’s interests was just a major setback. He went through his stack of vinyls, trying to think of anything that Josh would enjoy. Ironically, Brendon’s suggestion from earlier found its way into Tyler’s head.

-

 _“For now on I highly suggest trying your best to forget about pleasing your peers overall. Then, gradually start giving yourself a little more responsibility such as, choosing what movie to watch or plans for the weekend_.”

-

Tyler practically threw Brendon’s words far away from his thoughts. Josh was more than just a peer to him. He was a friend, someone that he had to live with for probably the rest of his life so choosing what Josh wanted to hear was the main priority here, or was it?

“Tyler do you need any help?” Josh asked, noticing that this was the third time Tyler flipped through his vinyls.

“No I’m fine. Just give me a second,” Tyler insisted, but the truth was he was really far from fine.

His movements were frantic, and Josh even realized how Tyler was starting to break out in a nervous sweat.

“Tyler stop,” Josh said while putting down his notepad. “You’re scaring me.”

Tyler stopped to look up at a concerned Josh. “I’m… scaring you?”

“Yeah like no offence, but you look like you’re having a panic attack. I’ll choose something,” Josh reassured, silently pleading for Tyler to just calm down and return to his normal self. Once Tyler calmed himself, Josh picked an album from the band ‘Wicked’. The music seemed to be pleasing for both of them.

There was a knock at the door. Tyler got up from his spot on the floor before opening the door to see his best friend.

“Hey come in,” Tyler said, inviting in Mark who placed his bag of fast food onto the counter.

“I brought us some food,” he said before taking a seat at the bar. “Where’s the little guy?”

“At the window over there,” Tyler replied before sitting down and taking out a well needed taco from the bag. “So how is the shop?”

“It’s good. We recently had an order for more blue and white guitar straps. Come to figure out that the guy from two days ago, y’now the one you had to help, is part of a band.”

“Oh really,” Tyler said. “And they all want to have matching guitar straps?”

“I guess so.” Mark chuckled. “He invited us to their next show by the way.”

“Aw how nice of him,” Tyler joked. “We should seriously go see them though.”

“Definitely”

“Tyler, who’s here?”

Tyler looked back to see Josh standing up and trying to look at Mark who was wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Just a friend,” Tyler said as he went to get Josh from his spot by the window. “He’s nice so stop your worrying.”

“Who said I was worried?” Josh asked with a smirk.

“Hey there’s the little guy,” Mark exclaimed when Josh was seated beside their scattered food. “How have you been?”

“Good” Josh uttered before getting a smell of the food around him. “Something smells good. What is it?”

“Oh this is Taco Bell. Do you want to try some?”

“Um Josh can’t have fast food,” Tyler spoke up while giving Mark an imperative look.

“I’m sure one bite couldn’t hurt.”

“But the rules said that he wasn’t suppose to eat-”

“What rules?” Mark asked but it was already too late as Josh nibbled on his taco. Tyler shook his head.

“Nevermind”

“This is so good,” Josh exclaimed, taste buds overriding with joy. Mark allowed him to take another bite.

“I’m glad you like it,” Mark said. “See Tyler there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Tyler admitted while watching Josh chew the food with a blissful look upon his face.

Tyler watched Mark mouth words towards him.

“I’m sorry what did you say?”

“I said that I can only fill you in for one more day,” Mark repeated. “Our boss will be checking in soon and I don’t want him thinking we’re taking turns skipping work or something.”

“Okay no problem,” Tyler replied. “I’ll just ask the couple next door to watch Josh for me.”

“I’m getting a babysitter?” Josh asked, now seated where he was standing a few minutes ago.

“Of course. I’m not allowed to leave you all alone remember?”

“Another rule that has yet to be broken.”

“I’m not leaving you alone,” Tyler ordered. “Besides, I think you will like the couple next door.”

Josh scrunched his nose, “Are they elderlies?”

“Yeah”

Josh groaned and tried hard not to roll his eyes. Mark chuckled before getting up to throw away their trash.

“Good luck with this one,” he said before slipping back on his jacket. “I’ll see you tomorrow alright?”

“Of course, see you then,” Tyler replied as he watched Mark slip out his apartment.

“He seems nice,” Josh said.

“He is,” Tyler replied before reaching his hand down. “C’mon, let's go watch The X-Files.”

Watching the X-Files with Josh was probably one of the best decisions Tyler had ever made. Josh was highly immersed in the show, and Tyler would be lying if he hadn’t watched him the whole time rather than the show. Josh was just so amusing, laughing at the cheesy jumpscares and listening intensely to the spoken dialogue. In the end, Josh was quick to name The X-Files as his new favorite show. Tyler couldn't help but to feel the same way.

Josh was wanting to have more fast food when dinner came around. However, Tyler turned him down much to his dismay and promised Chicken Alfredo that night. Come to find out, Josh enjoyed watching Tyler cook. He would sit on the kitchen counter top, watching Tyler slice bell peppers and stir sizzling chicken in the skillet. Tyler allowed him to throw the sliced peppers into the skillet that would soon be filled with creamy Alfredo sauce. They ate at the dining table and discussed what was to come tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a short chapter but look on the brightside, there will be faster updates for the next upcoming days AND the chapters will be longer. I'm a nice person I swear :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh runs out of clothes to wear and the neighbors next door come over for dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww yiss who's ready for another chapter???

It was after Josh finished his bath when Tyler found out that he finally ran out of clothing. Josh was even more shocked when Tyler broke the news to him.

“Well what am I going to wear then?” He exclaimed, willing for the bubbles in his bubble bath not fade away.

“Hold on I'll get you something,” Tyler said before leaving the bathroom to look through his closet.

In the end, Tyler ended up shrinking his oldest shirt, a pair of faded skinny jeans, and unmatched socks. Josh was thankful for the outfit, and once in the clothing, he couldn't help but to feel a bit special, knowing that he was the first other  person to ever be wearing Tyler's clothes. Tyler would have shrunk his whole wardrobe to have Josh always looking the way he was at that very moment. Right now he couldn't help but to feel a surprising amount of ownership over Josh, as if he wanted to be the only one to see him like this.

And he did.

“I guess we should buy you some more clothes huh?” Tyler said from where he was leaning against the door frame.

“I don't mind wearing your clothes,” Josh shyly admitted, pulling at the hemming of Tyler's tie dye shirt. “It's cheaper this way anyway.”

“Well it will take a while for us to get you some more clothes, so yeah, wearing my clothes would be best.”

“Yeah” Josh agreed and before he knew it, Tyler was already letting him go through his wardrobe to pick out what he needed.

Josh felt even more special during this moment and almost fainted when Tyler gave up his favorite hoodie for him, one that he worn for most days. All this spoiling was a new feeling for Josh and he didn't know if he should accept it or recognize it as only a one time thing. But seeing the look in Tyler's eyes made him believe that this was something way more than just a kind gesture. He knew this because he also felt the same way and probably had the same glint.

They migrated to the couch and searched upon retail stores to build Josh a wardrobe. Josh was a bit confused though. Where did most of Tyler's money come from? He knew that he worked at a music store but considering that Tyler just spent over three hundred dollars on him really did have him questioning.

“Where do you get all this money anyway?” He asked as Tyler clicked out the page of the last store they visited.

“I work at a music store,” Tyler said. “My parents also help out of course.”

“Oh really?” Josh said. “You must have some generous parents.”

“Eh they're okay,” Tyler commented before closing his laptop. Since he thought about it, Tyler realized that it had been a while since he talked to his parents and siblings. He would call them himself, but he bet they probably didn't miss him considering how they mostly treasured his brother Zack more than anything. Zack didn't have trust problems. Zack wasn't gay. Zack was just perfect, but then again, there was no such thing.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?” Tyler replied when Josh finally got settled in where his shirt pooled at the slouch of his stomach.

“Well yesterday you really flipped when I told you to pick an album to listen to.”

“Oh yeah, that was nothing,” Tyler said. “I’m just really awkward with those situations.”

“How come?” Josh asked.

“I don't really know to be honest,” Tyler explained. “I just have this belief that everyone should pick or do something that everyone will enjoy, and whenever I have to choose something, I always end up picking wrong.”

“Picking wrong?” Josh questioned with a puzzled expression. “When someone asks you to pick something for them you should pick something that you want, or at least that's what I wanted you to do yesterday.”

“But isn't that considered selfish?” Tyler replied, deep in thought. “You should always be concerned about others.”

“And you are, but...”

Josh paused for a moment.

“People are putting their trust in your hands. When they say to choose something for them they’re trusting you to choose something that won't embarrass or bore them. If you choose something that doesn't seem okay to them, that's not your fault. It just comes to show that you both don't have the same taste. They honestly shouldn't be getting angry since they gave the responsibility to you.”

“So I'm overreacting.”

“I think you're just nervous,” Josh uttered. “Or maybe just socially awkward. A lot of people are awkward. It's natural.”

“Yeah I guess so,” Tyler said before running his fingers through his hair. “In that case, I'm sorry about yesterday.”

“Neither of us need to apologize.”

“Well I want to,” Tyler insisted before rising off the couch. “I won't be here to watch you tomorrow by the way.”

“I know” Josh said as he climbed onto Tyler's hand. “Who are those elderly people you were talking about anyway.”

“Their names are Karen and Harold,” Tyler informed. “They've been my neighbors for years. I also invited them over for dinner tonight.”

“You did?” Josh asked. “Why didn't you tell me this sooner?”

“I didn't think it was a big deal. Besides, they eat with me most of the time when I feel a bit lonely. Without them, I would really be an anti socialist,” Tyler joked as he placed Josh on the kitchen counter top. “C’mon help me make dinner.”

-

Once dinner was done, a soft knock was heard within the apartment. Tyler placed the last glass platter onto the table before opening the door.

“Tyler, darling it's so nice to see you!”

“Mrs. and Mr. Thomas, it's so nice to see you too.” Tyler accepted the hug from Mrs.Thomas before shaking hands with her husband. They entered Tyler’s home and Mrs.Thomas was first to make eye contact with Josh. Josh gave her a timid smile.

“Oh my aren’t you just the tiniest, most adorable, most precious-”

“Let’s not get too carried away Karen,” Mr.Thomas warned as his wife squealed with delight.

She maneuvered over to Josh before cupping him in her wrinkled palms. Josh looked up at her radiating smile, her pale blue eyes, and silver hair. She gave off a faint aroma of perfume and some other comforting scent. Josh guessed it was that “old people smell” that most people claimed for elderlies to naturally have.

“Hello, nice to meet you,” Josh greeted, still trying his hardest not to be overwhelmed by the grandmother’s sweet and strangely energetic personality.

“Aw he's such a gentleman. Harold do you hear this young man?”

“Yes dear.”

“Please, have a seat.” Tyler said, disappearing into the kitchen. When he returned, he saw how Josh was seated next to Karen instead. Tyler had to eat by Harold tonight.

Dinner went by very slowly. Tyler was mostly stuck with listening to Harold’s badly remembered stories about Vietnam as Josh had to deal with being fed small amounts of mashed potatoes off Karen’s plate and basically being treated like a child or a child’s doll.

“Would you like some more sweetheart?”

“No thanks I'm pretty much stuffed,” Josh replied back to Karen, feeling as if he was about to explode.

“I think it's now time for me to get to the point of this meal today,” Tyler said right before Harold could get deep into the story of a small affair he had with a “very exquisite” Vietnamese lady. “You both really don't mind watching Josh while I'm at work do you?”

“Of course not dear! Just tell us what we need to do and we'll take him right off your hands,” Karen said.

“Well there's not much to do really,” Tyler explained while taking out the rules from Josh’s belongings. “Here are a set of rules that I was given for Josh, don't worry about rules 1, 4, and 9, and I personally ask just to keep him entertained, well fed, and in one piece I guess.”

He handed the paper to Harold.

“Josh do you have any requests?”

No reply.

“Josh?” Tyler questioned again before looking his way to see Josh spread out on the table, shirt revealing his stomach that was graciously being rubbed with two welcoming fingers of the old woman.

“Huh? Sorry w-what was the question again?” Josh stuttered as he quickly sat up and away from Karen’s touch.

“Oh my was I distracting him?” Karen giggled before looking over in Tyler's direction. “Josh just reminds me of my grandchildren when they were little. He's like a baby.”

Harold almost spat his sweet tea out when hearing his Wife’s comment. Tyler was close to bursting out laughing.

“A baby? Well that's an interesting comparison. Josh may not be a baby, but there’s really no difference.”

“Aw well would you look at that!” Karen exclaimed. “I guess some boys really don't grow up after all.”

Josh was about to speak up against the embarrassing comment, but Karen went back to rubbing his stomach in no time, sending him back into pure bliss. Tyler felt an abrupt sense of jealousy within him.

After clearing the table and having a few more cringe worthy conversations with the old couple, Tyler and Josh we're finally seeing their guests out the door.

“See you tomorrow at ten sweetheart,” Karen said before she gave one last kiss onto both Tyler and Josh’s foreheads before leaving the apartment.

Tyler let out a breath of fresh air, “Well I guess it's off to bed then.”

“Definitely” Josh replied. “But I just don't see why I have to be, y'know, babysat.”

“I can't leave you alone remember.”

“What's the worst that can happen?”

“Josh, I literally have to carry you everywhere everyday,” Tyler said while currently carrying Josh to their bedroom. “You can't even pee without me.”

“And your point is?” Josh challenged after being lifted down to his small beanbag.

“You are basically defenseless without me,” Tyler stated before stepping out of his clothes until he was left with a shirt and boxers.

“Is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?”

“Huh?” Did Tyler just hear him right? He turned around to see Josh gently hugging Roger to his chest.

“I want to sleep in your bed tonight,” Josh shyly repeated. “I don't have to though if you're not okay with it.”

“Oh no I'm totally okay with it,” Tyler rushed to say before taking Josh over to his unmade bed. “I just didn't think you wanted to that's all.”

“Well I do,” Josh said. “The window sill can get very lonely sometimes.”

“I'm sorry” Tyler replied as they got settled beneath the sheets, Josh soundly curling up on his chest before falling asleep. He would never leave Josh to sleep alone ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The comments you guys leave are so cute and nice and inspiring and oml I love every single one of you. Group hug <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh spends his first day without Tyler and Tyler sees someone he shouldn't. *there's a small bit of self harm btw pls be careful buttercup*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayy new chapter (woah I was gone for centuries thx marching band) I missed you guys <3

“Josh don’t trick them into breaking any of the rules.”

“I won’t.”

“And you can’t leave the apartment.”

“Tyler I know,” Josh scoffed as Tyler finished buttoning up his shirt.

“I just don’t want you to think that none of the rules apply while I’m gone,” Tyler explained. “Plus, you seem like the heartless tricking type.”

“Wow, thanks.”

There was a knock at the door. Tyler looked at his alarm clock to see that it was in fact 10:00. Josh wasn't very comfortable with having to wake up so early in the morning, but Tyler had woken him up with a tempting stack of pancakes that seemed to drag him out of bed. Speaking of which, Josh found it a bit strange to be waking up in someone's bed that he knew little about. Even so, it was very comforting to be lying among thick blankets and sheets smelling like Tyler’s shampoo and aftershave. It almost felt as if he was sedated of some sort, and well, he felt perfectly okay with it.

Tyler moved him into the living room to greet Mr and Mrs.Thomas at the door.

“Good morning!” Karen exclaimed before pulling Tyler into a warm hug with her tote in one hand.

“Good morning” Tyler replied. “Mr.Thomas”

“Tyler, you look very well this morning,” Harold said as he and Karen entered the apartment. “Where’s the little one?”

“He should be standing right there on the coffee table.”

“Oh there you are darling,” Karen cooed as she made her way over to Josh who was awkwardly waiting for her to place him back into her hands.

“Good morning Mrs.Thomas,” Josh greeted as he was lifted from the coffee table and into Karen’s hold.

“Well I should be going now,” Tyler said after speaking to Harold once more about the rules. “I’ll see you when I get back Josh.”

“Bye” Josh called out before Tyler exited the apartment. He was now alone with two old people who he truly knew _nothing_ about.

“So Josh how have you been?” Harold asked as he took a seat on the white couch.

“I’ve been good, and you?”

“Better than most days.”

Josh truly never noticed how melancholy Harold was until now. The man always seemed to be quiet and pretty cooperating with his wife in which Josh found very impressive at the most. He thought to himself, would this be Tyler in the future; old and settled but so stale, as if he was bored, as if his thoughts had finally sucked away his personality only to leave an elderly so compliant that he could easily be considered depressed? It was only a possibility.

“I was thinking that we could play a few board games today,” Karen excitedly explained. “I brought a few puzzles too.”

“Great” Josh commented with a fake smile. He was placed back onto the coffee table.

“I brought Monopoly, Candyland, The Game of Life, Checkers…”

“Monopoly sounds fun,” Josh lied and watched as Karen’s smile grew impossibly wider.

“Alright Monopoly it is.”

-

“There’s my little mommy.”

“Shut up Mark,” Tyler replied before hugging his friend. “I wasn’t gone for too long was I?”

“Not at all, there were these two teenagers though. One of them ended up smashing one of our electric guitars. Lets just say Calen was not happy with it.”

“I can imagine,” Tyler said. He hated to admit it, but it felt good to be back. This store was one of those things in his life that seemed to attach to his heart and actually give him yet another purpose to stay. He had missed Mark and even Calen who usually sat in the shadows of the guitar department. Tyler had been working here for about three years, and it took him that long to realize spending so much time at one place could really get the best of you.  

Tyler divided his attention to the little boy and woman entering the store.

“Hello welcome to Fred’s Music Store.”

“Hi can you please help us?” The woman asked.

“Of course what seems to be the problem?” Tyler replied but already having a good guess of what it was.

“Well I bought my son a ukulele from here just a few days ago, but when we got home to play it, we noticed how it didn't sound like an average ukulele. We didn’t think to buy a tuner beforehand and when we did, he didn’t exactly know how to use it. Could you please tune it for us?”

“Of course,” Tyler said as he was handed the small blue soprano ukulele. He grabbed one of the tuners from behind the counter before giving a small instruction of how to tune the uke. The mom tried to get her son to listen as it was his ukulele after all, but soon she just gave up and took it upon herself to know how to tune the instrument if needed.

“And after tuning the A string you now have a well tuned ukulele,” Tyler concluded before handing over the ukulele to the very grateful mother.

“Thank you young man, we’ll make sure to come back if we need anything,” The woman said before giving her impatient son back his ukulele.

“He could give your son private lessons if you want.”

“Really?” The woman asked, clearly interested in the offer.

Tyler looked behind him to see a smirking Mark.

“Yep we only charge a payment of 20 dollars an hour.”

“Since when?” Tyler interrupted but he was ignored once again.

“When can he start?”

“Next Wednesday.”

“Next Wednesday?”

“Perfect, we’ll be there.” The woman took her son by the hand. “See you then Tyler. Thanks again for your help.”

“Actua-” Tyler was then forcefully nudged in the side by Mark. He sighed, “You're welcome ma'am.”

The woman smiled before leaving with her child. Tyler then snapped.

“Mark what is your deal?” Tyler tormented. “Private lessons? Really?”

“Tyler imagine how much money we’re going to get,” Mark insisted. “That woman will probably pay anything for her child to be able to function on his own.”

“Yeah, but do you really think I have the patience to teach a child?”

“Well you deal with Josh everyday.”

“Josh isn’t a child,” Tyler said. “Where are we even going to give him his lessons?”

“I don’t know just take him outback,” Mark instructed. “And I’m sure that you could take him back to your place every once in awhile.”

“Oh no. That’s definitely not happening.”

“Well either way you’re not getting out of this,” Mark ordered. “C’mon, help me move some stuff around.”

Mark and Tyler  moved and put together new drum kits that came in early yesterday. Tyler spent most of the time imagining Josh drumming on each kit, getting carried away in each beat and nodding his head with sweat falling off the ends of his hair. He knew that Josh would be just the one to use any of the drums to their full potential if he wasn’t so small, but that could be easily fix.

“What’s on your mind?” Mark asked when he noticed how zoned out Tyler was.

“It’s nothing,” Tyler replied. “I was just thinking about Josh.”

“Why, is he okay?”

“Yeah he’s alright. Yesterday I let him listen to some alternative songs and he seemed to be really into the drumming. He was nodding his head to it and stuff.”

“Now that I think of it, he does look like a bit of a drummer. You should get him like a miniature drum set or something.”

“Yeah” Tyler said after attaching a cymbal onto the last drum kit. “It’s about lunch time right?”

“Um… yeah it’s about twelve.”

“Okay I’ll get us something real quick.”

Tyler grabbed his phone and keys before leaving his work. He didn’t know why, but he just needed a breath of fresh air. He decided to blame it on the stress.

-

“Oh no Harold, you ended up in jail,” Karen dramatically exclaimed. “Good thing that wasn’t us. Right Josh?”

“Yeah, sorry about that Harry- I mean Harold,” Josh said. This was the third time he got Harold’s name mixed up.

“Honey don’t you think we should be getting a bite to eat?” Harold asked before starting to clean up the board game. His hazel eyes looked dull, as if they were tired of some sort.

“Oh I almost forgot,” Karen said before helping to put up the game. “It looks like we have a winner! Congratulations Josh.”

“Thanks” Josh replied, feeling relieved that the game was finally over after playing for two hours. He never played monopoly before and this was not the experience he was expecting. Josh wondered if it would be better if he played it with Tyler instead. Maybe he would understand the game a little bit more with him.

“Now you wait right here while I make us some grilled cheese and tomato soup,” Karen instructed with a kind voice while sitting Josh down at the dining table. “Harold can you help me with the tomatoes dear?”

“On my way,” Harold replied before disappearing into the kitchen.

Josh waited and stood on the glass surface beneath him with sock-covered feet. The socks had belonged to Tyler, and Josh was able to find the correct pairs so that they matched. He didn’t like stuff being put with things that didn’t belong. Josh blamed it on his ocd, as always.

All was silent but the faint sounds of clanking and scraping of metal erupting from the kitchen. Mrs.Thomas’s music was also currently playing from Tyler’s red record player. The music was obviously from the older days; possibly the 1960-70’s if Josh was right. Josh could smell the tomato soup by now.

He wondered if he would have to eat off Karen’s plate or use the shrinking powder from earlier. They already knew that he was small, so it would be no surprise to see that he could shrink stuff too right? But they weren’t Tyler. Josh was told that all humans weren’t the same; them having different morals and beliefs, so there was a wide possibility that they could take it a different way than Tyler. To be safe, Josh decided to keep the powder a secret until Tyler’s request.

“Here you are my dear,” Karen uttered while placing a glass platter in front of Josh. The plate beheld a bottle cap filled with tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich that had been cut down into tiny grilled cheese sandwiches, small enough to fit Josh’s hand. A glass of chocolate milk was also given in the cup used yesterday during their last meal.

“Thank you” Josh politely replied before taking small sips from his chocolate milk. He had never tried chocolate milk before.

The couple sat down in chairs left and right of Josh. They dug into their food as well, dumping their grilled cheese in the soup before eating. Josh decided to try the combination as well. The taste was so pleasing, but dipping the grilled cheese in chocolate milk did not have the same results.

“So Josh,” Karen began after drinking her sweet tea. “How is living with Tyler?”

“It’s great,” Josh said, and he meant it. Living with Tyler was currently the best thing that ever happened to him, with some faults of course.

“Does he treat you well?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

Karen giggled. “You’re right, he has no reason to after all. In fact, I’m starting to see a bit of connection between you two.”

“Connection?” Josh asked while dipping his sandwich into his crimson soup. The sauce almost dripped onto his shirt.

“He’s been paying a lot of attention to you dear,” Karen elaborated. “I haven’t seen him this engaged in anyone since-”

“That’s enough Karen,” Harold interrupted before sipping from his water with a brutal stare.

“Since his ex-fiancee.”

“Karen!” Harold spat before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “We were told not to bring this up.”

“The boy deserves to know Harold, especially if he already begun developing feelings for our beloving Tyler. Do you like Tyler, Josh?”

“I- I don’t know,” Josh admitted, placing his hands in his lap where his legs were crossed. He then thought back to this morning when the sun wasn't even awake yet and he was able to watch Tyler while he slept. Josh had woken up at five, unable to sleep for some reason but ended up watching his best friend sleep with defiant features that glowed in the luminous moonlight. He looked like an angel.

“Let me ask you this again darling,” Karen pressed. “Do you get this feeling when you’re around Tyler? Be honest.”

Josh knew the feeling Karen was referring too. He always got it when Tyler carried him around the apartment. Besides, he couldn’t lie to an old person. It just wasn’t right.

“Yes”

“See Harold he deserves to know.”

“Listen to me boy,” Harold ordered. “Some things are meant to stay in the past. When brought up, they can cause total chaos onto the innocent like you. Tyler’s ex is nothing to be brought up whenever you feel like it.”

“Why? Does it make him sad? What happened?” Josh asked with a worried gaze.

“You’re asking too many questions son,” Harold warned. “Curiosity killed the cat.”

“Harold that’s enough. You’re scaring him,” Karen ordered before tuning back into Josh. “Tyler doesn’t really want people to know of his ex-fiancee, so he told us to not tell anyone else in fear that it would make him remember.”

“So he wants to forget,” Josh concluded, feeling a small sense of glee in the pit of his stomach.

“That’s exactly it honey,” Karen coaxed. “He seems happier with you anyway.”

“That’s… nice,” Josh admitted even if it might’ve not been the best thing to say. He couldn’t help it. He just felt so glad, and according to Karen, Tyler felt just the same way.

-

“I’m back,” Tyler announced when he returned from his outing. Mark took out his headphones.

“Welcome to hell,” he joked. “What did you bring.”

“Tacos” Tyler said while taking out his portion of lunch from the plastic bag. Mark did the same.

“That lady came back by the way.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. She just wanted a little more information on you that’s all,” Mark explained before biting his taco.

“A little more information?” Tyler asked in all seriousness.

“Y’now where you live, how old you are, if you murder children or not. Apparently the woman is also _very_ protective of her child.

“Great” Tyler replied before rolling his eyes.

“I told her that she could sit in during one of his lessons just to make sure he’s safe and all too.”

“Even better,” Tyler groaned. He knew he would have to be in charge of taking care of some child in the end. At least it’s only every other Wednesday.

There was suddenly a loud chiming of bells from the entrance of the store. Mark hurried to wipe his face, “Hello welcome to fre-”

Mark paused in shock when he finally saw who entered the store. Tyler sat up to see who was there as well... and then his heart fell out of his ass.

“Oh sorry. Wrong place,” the soft feminine voice said when her blue eyes landed on Tyler’s. She quickly left with her head towards the ground.

Mark looked back at Tyler to see the nasty results. Tyler was confused, beaten, heartbroken, and so much more. He didn’t understand. After successfully forgetting her, successfully pushing her out of his life, his heart, how was she able to just walk right back in and then back out all in one simple apology?

“Tyler just forget about her okay? She just got the shop wrong, everything’s fine. Besides, she was only here for five seconds, jeez.”

Tyler shook his head. He knew that was all a load of crap. He knew that she knew that he worked here. The only question that remained was, why?

“How could she,” Tyler rasped out, appetite completely forgotten. “She promised we were done. She did it so I didn’t have to choose.”

“You’re right and she did leave, see? She’s gone,” Mark pried but Tyler was already getting up to go towards the supply closet.

“Tyler? Tyler!” Mark rushed but Tyler had already shut the door and locked it.

Hours passed. Tyler finally came out of the closet with red eyes.

“Tyle-”

“I’m going home,” Tyler croaked. “Get the other guys settled in for me.”

“Sure thing,” Mark promised but still worried about his best friend who was now leaving the store with unstoppable plans for when he got home.

-

Josh modeled the sweater Mrs.Thomas had spent the past hour stitching. It was a bit itchy, but nonetheless warm.

“You look so charming Josh,” Karen awed as Josh pushed the sleeves up to where they rested at his elbows. “I should make you a beanie to match.”

Josh politely agreed even if the idea sounded not that appealing before Tyler eventually entered the apartment, weakly tugging off his jacket.

“Tyler dear, how was work?”

“Fine.” Tyler uttered with his head still slumped down. “Thanks for your help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay Tyler but is everything alright?” Karen asked, but Tyler had already made it to the hall bathroom.

“Oh my,” she gasped to herself. “You may want to wait here and let him give off a little steam darling.”

“Okay” Josh replied before slipping off the sweater. “Thanks for watching me today Mr and Mrs.Thomas.”

“It’s no problem dear. See you soon,” Karen promised before leaving the apartment.

Josh was then alone, left to his own worried thoughts. He almost went to go check on Tyler, but he thought back to how sad and tired he looked. Plus, the journey to the hall bathroom was a long way from the living room couch, so he waited, watching the clouds fly past the windows above him, but then he thought of something. If Tyler was tired, wouldn’t he go to the bedroom instead? Especially if he was planning on staying this long in there; it had already been a good thirty minuets.

Josh also noticed how strangely quiet it was, and that was just enough for him to check on Tyler, but the idea sounded way easier in his head. He was tiny and the couch was way above the floor as if it was some cliff or something. If he jumped, would he be alright? The distance wasn’t too bad, but those hardwood floors did not look all too promising. However, Tyler could be in trouble. What if he needed his help? What if he passed out from fatigue or something?

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Josh closed his eyes and leaped from the edge of the couch cushion. For a second he was free falling, feeling the cool air brush his red hair back until suddenly he hit rock bottom. He landed with a small yelp, feeling one of his ankles give up and pop as he fell onto his hands and knees from landing feet-first. His hands burned, but nothing was as worst as the dull pain in his ankle, spreading a sharp pain with any touch given.

All Josh wanted to do right now was curl up in a ball and try not to think about the swelling of his ankle, but Tyler was still in need. Was he worth it though? Josh shook his head. Of course he was worth it. After all Tyler did for him, the most he deserved was his concern. He clenched his fist before pushing himself up onto one foot, leaning against the bottom of the couch for support. Josh was able to retrieve a small lollipop stick from under the couch, allowing him to hobble all the way to the hall bathroom. By the time he got there, all was quiet except the small sobs coming from the bathroom.

“Tyler? Are you okay?” Josh asked but got no reply. The sobbing stopped for a moment though, Josh still needed an answer before he could dismiss himself. He waited for a moment until the crying started all over again with a shaky “stay away josh” in the midst. Josh took it upon himself to crawl underneath the door to get to Tyler, and once done, he saw his housemate seated beside the toilet. There was blood. Josh didn’t know where it was coming from until he spotted Tyler’s slitted wrist.

“W-Who did this to you?” Josh asked in disbelief until he spotted a small glint of light from behind Tyler’s foot. Josh walked around until he was face-to-face with a razor blade.

“You did this… to yourself?” Josh asked. He was confused. _Is this what real humans do in the outside world?_ The thought made him sad, knowing that humans, beautiful humans could cause so much pain when they felt too much of it. Was this suppose to be relieving like some kind of drug? No. It couldn’t be because Tyler was still in emotional pain, and Josh too.

“C’mon Tyler let’s get you out of here. Let’s go to bed. You need sleep,” Josh coaxed with a soft voice that could crumble at any moment. Tyler wouldn’t pry though, and Josh’s ankle was still in unbearable pain.

“Tyler, please just come to bed.”

“No” Tyler forcefully said.

His voice made Josh wince. He was truly broken, and all Josh wanted to do was put him back together again; hug him, give him comforting kisses, and just carry him to their bedroom himself, but then again, he was too small.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“I just want you to _leave me alone_.”

Josh didn’t leave though. He instead hobbled around until he found Tyler’s phone abandoned on the cold, pale floor. If he was right, there should be some kind of voice control to use in order to get help. He hopped onto the phone with his one good foot before limping onto the home button. The phone made a small “ba-ding” before opening to this screen with a moving, thin line at the bottom.

“Call…”

Who should Josh call? He could call Karen, but he really didn’t want her to see Tyler like this. She would probably faint herself, but then there was Mark. He spent most of his time with Tyler anyway, so he would most certainly know what to do.

“Call Mark.” Josh confirmed, and he thought that the job was all done until the phone responded.

“You’ll need to unlock your phone first.”

 _Crap._ Josh was in deep trouble now. How was he suppose to get the password from Tyler? He could ask, but Tyler was most likely not going to give him an answer in this state. He would have to guess the six letter word.

_J-o-s-e-p-h_

Nothing.

_G-u-i-t-a-r_

Nothing.

_F-r-i-e-n-d_

Nothing.

Josh was completely clueless of what the password could be until something came across his mind. Could it be his name? Josh knew that they had only known eachother for just a few days, but if he felt the same feelings for Josh it would most likely be his name. Josh took a deep breath and typed in the letters.

_J-o-s-h-u-a_

The phone unlocked.

Mark’s number was instantly dialed and the phone rung before a voice answered on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hey it’s Josh.”

“Oh hey Josh, is everything alright?”

“No, something’s not right with Tyler.” Josh explained while glancing over his shoulder to Tyler’s pale figure. “Please come over. It’s an emergency.”

“Okay I’ll be there soon,” Mark rushed before hanging up the phone.

Josh waited.

He waited until Mark came rushing into the bathroom to see what was wrong. Mark got down on his knees to come to Tyler’s aid, telling Josh to close his eyes because Tyler probably didn’t want to see him like this. Josh had seen enough already, so there was no need to close his eyes. Instead he watched as Mark wrapped his arms around Tyler so they could maneuver to his and Tyler’s bedroom. Mark did exactly what he wanted to do, and Josh was jealous. It just wasn't fair.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after Tyler's incident, and Tyler gives Josh a little understanding. Josh also gets a lot of aftercare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so i'm back and I was just reading through all the comments and realized how nice you all are, y'now, as usual :) I really hope this chapter makes up for hurting Josh...

The next morning was particularly empty and stale with streaks of black and white. A huge stratus cloud overhung the apartment like a huge fur blanket as Josh lied wide awake in Tyler’s open palm. It was hard for him to sleep last night, especially after the small incident that occurred, leaving Tyler pale and looking oh so fragile. Josh believed that if he touched him, Tyler would most likely crush to smithereens, so he decided to sleep on his hand just to be safe.

Watching Tyler sleep was nothing like the last time. He seemed unhappy, but peaceful as if sleeping in his own bed and getting a good night's sleep was just enough to spark at least a little happiness within his frozen, beaten heart. Josh wondered that if he opened his eyes, would they still look like the dull brown pair from yesterday. He hoped not because Tyler’s eyes caused him to realize how brown wasn’t so ugly after all. Tyler proved that even the least colorful colors could be so extravagant with his mocha eyes that changed to gold in the fall. Josh knew that fall was his favorite season for some reason.

Tyler’s hand began to twitch, signaling Josh that he was finally waking up from his slumber and to move off him. Josh obliged and watched Tyler sit up and rub his eyes that were still looking so lifeless in the white rays of sunlight coming in through their window.

“Good morning” Josh said because what else could he say? Tyler nodded back and rubbed his injuries that were snuggly wrapped in white bandaging. Speaking of injuries, Josh’s ankle had been forgotten and neglected since yesterday. He had never sprained his ankle before, so this was a whole new experience for Josh. Should he put some bandaging on it as well? The question had to wait for now.

“How are you?”

“Better” Tyler replied before finally looking back down at Josh with so much sorrow.

“You’re… _ashamed_.” Josh noted after getting a good look at Tyler’s face.

“You don’t deserve to see me like this.”

“Tyler, I deserve to see all phases of you,” Josh replied. “We’re best friends remember?”

“Yeah, we are aren’t we,” Tyler said with a small chuckle and a smile that didn’t reach the corner of his eyes. “I just had a bad day yesterday that’s all.”

“No kidding”

Tyler shrugged and moved out of the bed, wincing at his cuts.

“Was I right?”

“Huh?” Tyler asked once standing beside the unmade bed.

“You did this to yourself, right?” Josh questioned, knowing what the answer would be, but there was still hope.

“It was blurryface.”

Josh wasn't’ expecting that.

“Who’s blurryface?” Josh asked while trying not to apply too much pressure onto his ankle.

“He’s what makes me do this kind of stuff,” Tyler explained. “None of this would’ve happened if he wasn’t there.”

Josh raised his eyebrow.

“In my head I mean,” Tyler corrected before slipping on a shirt.

“So he’s a voice in your head.”

“No, he’s more than that. It’s too much to explain. Are you hungry?” Tyler asked, changing the subject. Josh was about to interrogate him even further, but he left it alone for now.

“Yes” He replied before Tyler lowered his hand to walk upon. Now this was the hard part. Josh did nothing but stare at the hand until he finally decided that there was no use hiding it. He pushed himself onto one foot before limping all the way onto Tyler’s hand, falling onto his knees when finally landing on the flesh.

“Josh what happened?” Tyler asked before raising his housemate up to his eyes for an inspection.

“I fell,” Josh said because he did fall, sort of.

“From where, a cliff?” Tyler poked Josh’s left foot, causing a painful yelp to erupt from the small human. “Is it your foot?”

“No, my ankle, and I fell from the couch in the living room while trying to get to you.”

Tyler’s frown deepened, “I wasn’t worth it you know.”

“Nonsense, you needed my help and I was determined give it to you,” Josh reassured while wincing at Tyler’s gentle touch. “I would do anything for you.”

Did he just say that outloud? Josh felt his cheeks redden as Tyler gave him a sheepish smile.

“No one has ever told me that before,” he said after giving Josh’s ankle a tiny kiss. “I’ll wrap your foot and ankle with a few bandages. You probably sprained it, so don’t apply any pressure onto it for a few days.”

Josh agreed before being carried into the dining room attached to the kitchen where he was placed in his usual spot on the table.

“I think I may make us some waffles this morning,” Tyler said, his personality already brightening.

“Sounds good” Josh replied. Eating waffles would be yet another first for him.

There was a comfortable silence within the apartment. Mr and Mrs.Thomas would be arriving in two hours, so they had just enough time to enjoy their breakfast, if only Tyler’s waffle maker wasn’t broken.

“Um Josh we have a problem,” Tyler called out as he placed the waffle maker by the trash can.

“What’s wrong?” Josh asked as he scratched at the itchy bandaging wrapped around his ankle and foot.

“Waffle maker broke,” Tyler explained while picking up his phone and going through his contacts. “I guess i’m going to have to place an order.”

Josh listened quietly just like last time while Tyler ordered their breakfast over the phone. He felt even more excited when Tyler added two hash browns to go with their waffles; that would make two firsts for him this morning.

Someone brought the waffles to them and Tyler accepted their breakfast, paying the man while keeping Josh out of sight before closing the door. The food smelled so good, and Josh was bouncing until he was finally able to come in contact with his food.

“This- This is so good!” Josh praised, causing Tyler to let out another chuckle.

“I’m glad you like it,” Tyler responded before taking sips from his orange juice.

Mr and Mrs.Thomas showed up at ten like last time, and Tyler left with a longsleeve shirt to cover his cuts. It was strange to be wearing a long sleeve shirt today though, so he told them that he wasn’t feeling well. Karen showed him sympathy.

“Aw well get well soon dear,” Karen told him before Tyler left to go to work.

After that it was just Karen, Harold, and Josh all in the same apartment. Karen started to do her usual routine before accidently touching Josh’s injured ankle. Josh flinched and she immediately switched into urgent nurse mode.

“What happened?”

“Is it bleeding?”

“You didn’t break it did you?”

Josh was swarmed with questions, but he was able to calm Karen down by just saying he slipped off the couch by accident. Her worried looks were not soothed though, and Josh ended up taking a calming bubble bath to rid pain. After soaking in the bath for about an hour, he was changed into loose clothes and his ankle was treated with ice before being skillfully wrapped in new bandaging. Josh wasn’t allowed to lift a finger for the whole day and was fed chocolate chip cookie crumbs and milk on his old window sill with the red beanbag. Karen never left his side. She even crocheted Josh a blanket with love in every stitch for him to curl under at night, but Josh knew that he had Tyler to keep him warm.

Karen was in the middle of telling Josh a story of her grandkids when he slipped into a nice cat nap. He slept for a long time, dreaming about waffles, cookies, and butterscotch pancakes with extra syrup, and Tyler. Tyler had been popping up in his dreams more and more every night. Once awakened, Josh noticed that there was a napkin in front of his bed with saltine crackers and tiny slices of cheese. A cup of grape juice accompanied the meal. He sat up from underneath Karen’s blanket that was used to tuck him in whilst he slept before taking small sips from the grape juice. He enjoyed the lunch and was interrupted by Karen who entered the room with her reading glasses still on.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Karen said before seating herself back in Tyler’s chair seated in the corner of his room. “You were asleep for a while.”

“Was I?” Josh asked before making a sandwich with two chipped off pieces of saltine crackers and a slice of cheese.The combination tasted pretty good, but not as good as grilled cheese and tomato soup.

“Yes, you were out for hours. Tyler will be here soon. You must’ve been really tired.”

Now that he thought about it, Josh was pretty tired from yesterday. Plus, the spoiling he received today was enough to put anyone to sleep. He really didn’t deserve Mrs.Thomas. She had taken so good care of him today that she had outdone his own mother. The woman really was an angle.

“Do you need anything else sweetheart?” Karen sweetly asked when cleaning up Josh’s snack.

“No, but there is something I would like to say.”

“Oh really, and what would that be?”

“I just want to thank you that’s all. For everything,” Josh said in full seriousness. “No one has ever shown me this much love before and I’m grateful for it. Thank you.”

“Aw Josh what a very nice thing to say,” Karen cooed before leaning closer in towards Josh. “I will always think of you as my own dear, and treat you like one too.” She kissed the top of his head and ankle before exiting the room. Like Josh said, she was an angle.

“I'm back,” Tyler announced when he finally returned from work.

Josh heard voices from Tyler's room and patiently waited for his friend to greet him personally. He then heard the closing of the front door and soft steps coming towards him. Tyler entered the room.

“Hey Josh,” Tyler said while changing out of his work clothes.

Josh respectively looked away once Tyler began to shake off his khaki pants. “Hey Tyler. Was work better today?” He asked.

“Yes, way better than yesterday. Er you can look now by the way.”

Josh turned his head back around to see Tyler in a pair of gray sweats and a band tee. The outfit fitted him well.

“What are we eating tonight?” Tyler asked when they were finally seated on the couch.

“I'm actually not that hungry,” Josh confessed.

“Well that's a first,” Tyler replied before grabbing the remote to turn on the tv. “I guess I'll just order Chinese then.”

“What's Chinese?” Josh asked.

“It's Chinese food. Y'know, rice and stuff.”

“I've never had Chinese before.”

“I figured,” Tyler said while going through his contacts again. “You can eat whenever you feel like it, but I'll just go on and order the food for now.”

“Sounds good.”

They watched the x-files after Tyler finished ordering Chinese and about thirty minutes later, their food had finally arrived.

“Thank you have a nice day,” the worker said before leaving the apartment.

Josh was already sitting on his usual spot on the coffee table as Tyler prepared the food on plastic plates instead since they would be eating in the living room this time. Josh's portion was shrunken and even a pair of chopsticks too. Josh inspected the utensils with a puzzled look.

“You use them to eat,” Tyler instructed while showing Josh how he picked up his orange chicken with a pair of chopsticks. Josh tried to mimic Tyler, but the sticks kept on falling out of his hand.

“No you hold them between your fingers. Like this,” Tyler instructed again by slowly picking up his chopsticks and placing them between his fingers. “Use these two fingers to open and close them.”

“I think I got it,” Josh said while concentrating. Soon enough, he was able to pick up his own chicken before sticking it in his mouth.

“There you go,” Tyler praised before continuing to eat his meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly blurry is not going to become a character in this fic. That was just a little thing I put in there so yeah don't worry about it.  
> -  
> Plus, this fic has over 1,000 hits?!? Wow this is amazing thank you <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally falling in place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy oh boy how long has it been? Two months?
> 
> Oops?

Josh and Tyler were seated on the couch this evening. Josh was currently wearing Tyler’s shrunken sweatshirt and mix-matched socks, officially making this Saturday a lazy day. He didn’t know exactly what a ‘lazy day’ was until Tyler brought it up this morning. Tyler explained it as a day when you practically did completely nothing and just chilled out most of the time by doing whatever, whenever you like. The description excited Josh, but now he realized that when Tyler said that they were to do nothing at all today he literally meant nothing at all. It wasn’t completely boring though. They watched Disney movies for the most part while snacking on popcorn. Tyler decided to sip on his usual can of redbull, sparking a bit of interest inside Josh.

“Can I try some?” Josh softly asked when Tyler placed the near-empty can back onto the coffee table.

“Josh you’re not allowed to have energy drinks. You know that.”

“Says the one who’s ordered me take out twice this week,” Josh mumbled underneath his breath.

“What was that Josh?” Tyler playfully encountered. “I couldn’t hear you just then.”

“Oh nothing,” Josh tore himself off another piece of popcorn.

Tyler chuckled and focused back on the tv. He was happy to see Josh feeling better, for he had blamed himself for Josh’s injuries all because he couldn't keep his cool over the smallest incidents. Josh didn't need to experience what he was going through. He was too good, fragile, both physically and emotionally. Tyler swore that he wouldn't let Jenna get to his head again, but she had caught him off guard. He couldn't afford to make that mistake again. He had to stay strong, for Josh.

“When are you going to replace your plant?” Josh questioned while finally removing his eyes from the movie.

“I don’t know probably soon,” Tyler replied. “I’ll pick one up from the nursery on my way home from work.”

“Can I have one too?”

“Of course as long as you don’t push it off the window sill.” Tyler adjusted himself underneath Josh who was cuddled in the slouch of his tee shirt again. “I had no idea you were into plants by the way.”

“Me neither” Josh admitted before focusing back on the movie with a princess dressed in blue, running away with one glass slipper remaining on her foot as the clock struck twelve.

-

Josh felt like he was literally decomposing. They haven't moved an inch in what, two hours? He had lost count. Tyler was still seated underneath him, his bones stiff and currently working on his second nap. Josh wanted to wake him up so badly. He might've looked adorable, but Josh was losing his patience.

“Tyler” Josh called. “Ty wake up.”

Tyler fluttered his eyes open.

“Hey Josh,” he mumbled, voice drenched with sleep. “How long was I out?”

“Too long” Josh huffed while brushing the last bit of crumbs that had fallen on Tyler’s shirt onto the couch cushions.

Tyler simply shrugged and softly stroked Josh’s hair with his finger. Josh tried hard not to fall for the touch.

“I’m sorry”

“Okay”

“Josh I’m really sorry,” Tyler pressed. “You know I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

Josh stared into the puppy eyes gazing down at him. Tyler’s hair was all over the place and he was currently chewing on his slightly chapped lips out of nervousness. He looked so _innocent_.

“I forgive you.” Josh looked away to hide the creeping blush rising up his collar. Tyler smiled, showing off his slightly imperfect teeth that Josh could admire for days.

“I knew you would,” he teased. “Is there anything else you want to do today? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t, but we can also do something if you want to y’now, do something…”  
Josh paused to think for a little while. He knew what he wanted. He just wasn’t sure if Tyler would agree to it that’s all, and he would probably say no to it, but what if he says yes?

“I...erm…”

Josh ran his fingers through his hair.

“Maybe we could go out today? Like leave the house and stuff?”

“Oh um” Tyler fought with his thoughts. “I guess we could, but I just don’t know if that would be the best thing to do.”

“Not if we’re careful.” Josh stood up to have a better approach. “Besides, I don’t want to like socialize or anything. Maybe we could go to a park or something. Something simple.”

“Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Tyler thought out loud. “And I know the perfect place.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah” Tyler removed Josh from the pouch of his shirt to take him to their bedroom. “You’re gonna love it.”

-

Josh never thought that he would go to a lake  in the middle of autumn.

It wasn’t a surprise when Tyler admitted that he actually had no idea where his “perfect place” was. They almost settled for the park, but Tyler was determined to give him and Josh the privacy they needed especially with Josh’s attributes. The two were walking down the urban streets of Ohio in warm hoodies looking for a lake that Tyler’s phone swore was only a couple blocks away. His friends actually had been there before them, claiming that the shoreline kind of pulls you in after a while. Josh didn’t even know what a shoreline was, but Tyler did thus, pulling the smaller along to see a murky lake when it was 58 degrees outside.

“Won’t be long now Josh”

Josh rolled his eyes where he was seated in Tyler’s hoodie pocket, hearing the same sentence for the second time. He tried his hardest to avoid Tyler’s cold hands that visited almost every minute or so, and if he got lucky, he would sneak a peek outside just the slightest to mindlessly stare at whatever seemed interesting as this adventure was getting a bit boring. “Tyler can we take a break?” Josh asked when his awkward position in the small space was causing him to cramp up.

“Hold on” Tyler replied while pulling the younger out of his hoodie and  into his hands after finding a safe place to hide. He took in Josh’s appearance who now had cold cheeks reddening from the brisk air.

“Are you cold?”

“Duh” Josh snapped as he tightened the strings of his hoodie.

“Well I would hug you, but y’now I kind of can’t.”

“I know” Josh rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets to seek for more warmth.

Josh didn’t exactly enjoy being reminded of what he could and could not do with Tyler. Even he knew that his life was complicated from the start. He grew up this way, and he was very aware that his curse would do enough damage especially towards his love life. For all he knew, Josh would probably never get a chance to hug Tyler nor kiss him. That’s why he would do anything to have the brunette cuddled up in his arms after a stressful day at work, to have him kiss him on their wedding day, and even have him coming undone under his single touch. ~~Josh wanted sex so badly.~~ He wanted so many things, but again he was _just too small_. He began to sniffle as a thin line of tears rimmed his eyes that he desperately tried to hide. Would he ever get to love Tyler?

“Josh? Wait a second please don’t cry,” Tyler coaxed while shushing the tiny boy now bawling in his fist.

“Don’t look at me.” Josh weakly protested.

“Josh I don’t care what you look like, I just need to know what’s wrong.”

Josh took a deep breath.

“I can’t hug you.”

“Aw Josh is that it? Don’t worry we can easily improvise or something.”

“No it’s not just that Ty,” Josh held back more tears. “I want to do so much more to you Tyler.”

_Oh_

“I want to hold your hand, I want to hold you, and most importantly…” Josh bit his lip. “I want to kiss you.”

Tyler was breathless. He didn’t really know how to respond to Josh’s big confession.  Tyler then came up with an idea. He started to warm up his one free hand, getting it nice and toasty as much as he could before switching hands.

“What are you doing?” Josh asked, tears drying  on his face before being faced with Tyler’s thumb.

“Hug me.”

“What?” Josh asked while looking up at Tyler in utter confusion.

“I know it might not be the same thing, but you could at least give it a try.”

Josh hesitated before finally wrapping his arms around the thumb and giving it a tiny squeeze. He then began to squeeze harder. He felt so at ease just by the simple connection that was happening between the two. It might’ve not been the same, but at the end of the day he was still hugging Tyler. Josh looked up through his lashes, almost too shy to see Tyler’s response, but it was nothing like he imagined. Tyler didn’t look weirded out, he looked compassionate, as if he would do anything for his tiny partner and more. There was something hidden behind Tyler’s eyes that mimicked what he knew best, comfort, something he wasn’t given  by anyone else.

"If there’s a will, there’s a way,“ Tyler reassured while curling his other finger around Josh’s waist to make it feel more normal, to make Josh feel more normal. Josh melted in his hold.

The sun was coming down then. The sky was stripped into hues of mango and cranberry as it morphed into a soothing lilac tone. It was colder. Josh was huddled back into the Tyler’s pockets while  keeping his hands shoved into his own jet black hoodie pockets.

They continued to walk, and walk, and walk.

“We’re almost there,” Tyler said.

“We’re super close,” Tyler said.

The sound of lapping waves interrupted the silence, sounding like music to their ears. Tyler was quick to give Josh a smug look, “I told you we were almost there.”

They sped up their pace until finally, _finally_ the lake peaked over hills of grass. Tyler walked them all the way to the edge to get the perfect view. The air was so crisp, so brittle that you could see your own words fall out your mouth ever so fluidly. Tyler checked to make sure they were the only ones before rising Josh up to his face with his cold hands. Josh complained, but nonetheless allowed Tyler to unexpectedly to clash their lips together.

Everything froze in time as they shared tiny pecks that warmed Josh from his head to his toes. He didn’t think it was possible, but there he was kissing Tyler with everything he had in short little bursts of intimacy that he longed for so long. The moment looked simple, but felt mythical as the sun was still sitting on the horizon with its auburn glow. They broke apart, silver smoke escaping their plump lips before Josh broke into a wide smile, his eyes holding the sun. Tyler smiled as well. “Now what?” Josh quietly asked while trying to conceal his giddiness that was threatening to spill any moment now.

“Ice cream?”

“Tyler we’re not going to eat ice cream when it’s just over 40 degrees.” Josh opposed while hugging Tyler’s thumb like before. “Why not?” Tyler started pecking his cheeks causing the miniature man to not chuckle, but laugh so loud that you could almost hear him over the fragile waves. Tyler fell in love even more.

“What’s so funny?” He asked between his small gestures. Josh didn’t even respond as he could only scrunch his face even more trying to escape the kisses.

“Shut up” Josh playfully exclaimed.

Josh took one more look at the autumn lake, the foaming shoreline pulling him in.

They stayed there a bit longer, Josh seated on Tyler’s lap as they sat right before water met land. The moment to leave came too soon. Tyler struggled to pull himself up, the dirt from the mushy ground sticking to his jeans.

A taxi was called. Josh was hidden in the pocket of Tyler’s hoodie as they easily slid onto the leather seats before giving the driver their address.

When they got back to the apartment, Josh and Tyler settled down on the black and grey sheets smelling of peppermint and sleep. Josh was lying on Tyler’s chest that he had fully became so accustomed to, his shallow breaths painting the soft skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I will have faster updates don't worry I'm not going anywhere. Like, I may disappear for a couple of months randomly, but that's only bc life sucks and yeah, trust me I am not giving up on this fic no way.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh realizes that the day after having your first kiss would be easy to enjoy if the person you kissed wasn’t sleeping right underneath you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I failed my biology test today and I was really bummed out until I read all of the nice comments you guys left me :) They really made my day, so in return here's another update to hopefully make your day even better.

Josh’s ankle was very sore the next morning. He had woken up with a familiar dull pain in the bone that caused it to throb involuntarily as Tyler’s chest rose and fell.

_Tyler._

Josh had almost forgotten about him. His thoughts were mostly centered on yesterday that consist of unforgettable moments that left his lips still tingling.

What happened yesterday was extraordinary, an experience that Josh was barely lucky enough to partake in. Tyler took care of him very well that night, kissed him so gently that Josh had to think long and hard to determine whether or not it was a real kiss or just the simple grazing of their lips. It was definitely a real kiss. Josh remembered feeling the warmth of his lips contrast against the crisp auburn breeze that could’ve swept him right off his feet. He remembered the look in Tyler’s eyes that glowed in the diminishing sunset. He remembered Tyler’s defiant face being contorted with unforgivable shadows from the oak trees lingering over them.

It would be impossible for him to forget any detail from last night, but it was also impossible to know what was to happen next. The day after having your first kiss would be easy to enjoy if the person you kissed wasn’t sleeping right underneath you. What if Tyler didn’t really feel the same way? What if he just kissed him as a charity act simply because Josh would probably never kiss anyone else in the long run? Josh pushed the thoughts away. Tyler wouldn’t do that. Besides, what he felt last night was real. The connection between them was far too strong to be fake. Everything was too surreal.

“Ouch” Josh winced as his ankle welcomed him back to reality.

Tyler began to greet the morning sun by opening his eyes that Josh had missed so much since last night. He allowed his eyes to adjust, and instead of recognizing Josh’s presence, he suddenly sat up from under the sheets to lean back against his bed frame. Josh rolled down his chest with a yelp, gripping at whatever he could to cease his fall.

“T-Tyler!”

“Oh shit Josh,” Tyler exclaimed before catching the man just in time. “Sorry little guy.”

Josh huffed and situated his leg so he wouldn’t be bending his ankle. “You almost killed me.”

Tyler scoffed. “You’re so dramatic.”

“Shut up” Josh sat up in the palm of Tyler’s hand. “Did you sleep well?”

“Of course, did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I slept pretty well last night.”

“Good”

“Good”

Josh played with his thumbs. “So um what do you think about yesterday?”

Tyler smiled a little bit. “Yesterday was absolutely perfect.”

Josh let out the breath he was holding. He thought he was going to get a completely different reaction from Tyler, but he was proven wrong. He smiled as well before meeting Tyler’s eyes once more.

“It was wasn't it?” Josh replied as he glanced down at Tyler’s lips that were still the perfect shade of pink. Tyler’s cheeks were now the exact shade to match.

“I was afraid that you didn’t like what I did to be honest,” Tyler admitted. “For a second I thought I was going too fast.”

“Trust me you weren’t going too fast,” Josh reassured. “I wanted you to do that.”

“Mmm just making sure.” Tyler gave Josh a tiny peck on the cheek, and grabbed his phone off the dresser to see that the time was 11:00 in the morning.

“Wow we really slept for a while huh,” he acknowledged before placing his phone on his lap. “Do you have anything in mind today?”

“No not really,” Josh answered. “My ankle is starting to hurt again.”

“It wasn’t hurting yesterday?” Tyler questioned before slipping out of his bed.

“My mind was focused on _other_ things I guess.”

“Oh really?” Tyler teased as they made it into the bathroom where the medicine cabinet was above the toilet. “Maybe you should start paying attention.”

“Maybe” Josh uttered before sitting down on the toilet paper roll Tyler had placed out for him.

He waited patiently as Tyler treated his ankle with bandaging and a small ice cube he had quickly retrieved from the fridge up the hall.  The pain was long gone now, but Tyler wanted to be extra sure that everything was okay.

“Are you sure it feels okay?”

“Yes Tyler,” Josh replied with a roll of his eyes. “Now, go make me some breakfast.”

-

Josh was served scrambled eggs and bacon with a glass of orange juice. They ate at the breakfast bar and talked about their interest in music, food, and anything else that seemed to come to mind. Afterwards, Tyler cleaned up and settled them back onto the couch.

“I literally have no idea what we should do today,” Tyler chuckled while running his fingers through his hair.

“Maybe you can show me something new,” Josh suggested. “You could teach me how to breathe fire.”

“Yeah right.”

“It would be pretty awesome,” Josh shrugged and lied down where he was centered on Tyler’s lap. “But seriously is there anything I can do?”

Tyler looked around the living room. He would show Josh a bit of the ukulele or something, but his size was certainly a big restriction to what they could do at the moment. His eyes then landed on his white gaming console placed in the shelf of his tv stand.

“Do you want to play a game?”

“Oh no please no more games. Monopoly was bad enough.”

Tyler arched his eyebrow. “When did you play monopoly?”

“The babysitters forced me to,” Josh pouted.

Tyler laughed. “Trust me, what we’re playing is nothing like monopoly.”

“It better not.” Josh rolled over onto his back. “So what’s the game?”

“Well it’s actually a video game,” Tyler said before getting up to set up the console. He turned on the tv before pressing on the remote some more to get the game onto the screen.

“I was going to suggest Mario Kart, but that may be a little too difficult.” Tyler went through his basket of Nintendo games before choosing a red case. “This will have to do.”

“What game is it?” Josh asked out of interest.

“Super Mario Bros,” Tyler informed while grabbing a controller. “It’s very easy to play.”

“I hope so.”

Tyler sat back onto the couch and allowed Josh to situate himself so he could stand on the small rectangular controller.

“Okay so here’s how you play…”

Tyler explained all the controls to Josh, instructing him to just step on the “1” and “2” buttons at the end of the controller while he pressed the plus sign that made the little character on the screen move about. They were able to complete two quest and even a few mini games. Josh was completely addicted to the game and took it way too seriously. Tyler found it to be so adorable, as it wasn’t every day you got to see a miniature human get upset about a green shell that he swore he stepped on before getting hit. Josh was just so _cute_.

-

The game started getting old around 4 or so. Tyler basically had to pry the controller away from Josh and make about one million promises that he would let Josh play some other time to finally beat the boss once and for all. They had lunch and watched movies until falling into a small cat nap. Tyler was first to wake up from the nap and was able to watch Josh, legs curled up in his favorite space in the pouch of his shirt. Josh woke up and caught Tyler staring down at him. Tyler tried to cover it up, but they both knew what he was doing. There was no use of hiding it.

The rest of the day passed in the blink of an eye. It was now 11:45 at night, and Josh was seated in the sea of sheets that covered Tyler’s bed. He was drawing little things in his tiny journal. The drawings were mainly of Tyler, but he didn’t have to know that. Tyler just got done taking his shower and joined Josh’s session after drying off all the way.

“Josh it’s late why are you still up?” Tyler asked after turning off his lamp.

“Nothing” Josh replied before tucking his journal under Tyler’s pillow. It was a bit hard since the pillow was the size of a boulder, but the book still slid right under.

“Alright then.” Tyler brushed off Josh’s strangeness and lied down so Josh could get comfortable too. Josh took his rightful spot on the center of his chest.

“You know I have work tomorrow right?”

“Seriously?” Josh asked before sitting up to look up at Tyler who now had his eyes closed.

“Yeah tomorrow's Monday.”

“Ugh” Josh flopped back down before feeling the vibrations of Tyler’s soft chuckles.

“I won’t be gone for long Joshy.”

“I know it’s just I don’t like you leaving me.”

“At least I get to be with you again in the end.”

“Yeah” Josh released a deep breath before getting a bit more comfortable. “Do you miss me while you’re gone?”

“I miss you all the time Josh,” Tyler admitted before letting out a yawn. “It’s kind of hard not to.”

“I guess you’re right,” Josh replied. “I miss you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look out the elderlies are coming.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get a bit spooky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you guys didn't know... Halloween is coming \\(^_^)/ which means that I will be posting two Halloween themed chapters (this one being the first) in order to celebrate Josh's first Halloween. I hope you guys are just as excited as I am!

Josh’s vision was blurred when his eyes opened from being closed for so long. He felt underneath him and didn’t feel the same warm skin from last night.

“Tyler?” He groggily asked before sitting up.

“No sweetheart it’s me, Mrs.Thomas. Tyler went to work about an hour ago. Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” Josh reassured as he finally looked up to see the emerald eyes of his babysitter wearing a bright smile. Her silver hair was styled in loose, bouncy curls that reached her shoulders.

“What’s for breakfast?”

“Well Harold and I decided that we wanted to do something extra special for breakfast today,” Karen said as she lifted Josh off the bed sheets. “I wasn’t able to make it small enough to fit your size, but I hope that the taste alone will make up for it.”

Josh surely wasn’t expecting what was awaiting him on the dining table. He was surprised to be presented with pumpkin pie pop-tarts that were shaped like tiny jack-o-lanterns with wicked smiles. As a side, there was a banana ghost made with the cut off tip of a banana and chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth. A glass of mummified milk was given to wash it all down.

“What’s all this for?” Josh asked while ripping off a piece of a pop tart to finally have a taste.

“Oh sweetie don’t you know? Tomorrow's Halloween.”

“What’s Halloween? Josh questioned, completely oblivious to the arrival of the most important holiday this month.

“It’s a holiday with ghosts, goblins, witches, and anything else that makes your skin crawl.”

“But don’t those things scare people? Why celebrate things that are so _terrifying_?”

“Well that’s the fun part.” Karen took a seat at the table. “Some people like to be scared in a jokingly matter. You even get to dress up as your favorite monster.”

“Why?”

“To trick-or-treat.”

“What’s trick-or-treating.”

Karen sighed and got a little more comfortable. “Let’s just start from the beginning.”

-

“Mark what have you done,” Tyler gawked when he saw that his work place was now a haunted house decorated with orange and black streamers, white cobwebs, and- Was that a life sized skeleton?

“I decided to touch up the place. It’s time to get into the Halloween spirit Tyler.”

“I rather not.”

“Suit yourself.” Mark replied as he finished placing a bowl of candy on the front desk.

“Does boss know about this?” Tyler asked while stealing a Twix from the Frankenstein candy bowl.

“He actually requested it. It’s suppose to help with the Halloween sale happening this week.”

“Oh yeah, the Halloween sale that attracts literally no customers every year.”

“Whatever man, I’m just glad that we actually get to do something this year for Halloween. Come help me with these pumpkins.”

Tyler followed Mark all the way to his car parked behind the building to get the carved jack-o-lanterns seated on his backseat. It took a while, but somehow they were able to carry the four pumpkins back to the store by hand. However, once they reached the entrance of the building they were surprised to see two customers lingering around the front desk.

“Look, customers!” Mark exclaimed while hurrying to drop his pumpkins to service the two hopefully paying customers.

“Whoa Mark slow down,” Tyler replied as he sat his pumpkins down to jog after his friend who had slipped passed the glass doors.

“Welcome to Fred’s Music Store.” Mark wiped his hands on his pants to readily shake hands with who had come to stop by. These customers weren’t adults though. They were kids wearing backwards hats and dirty converse. They had to be at least twelve or thirteen years old, and their hands were wrist deep into the candy bowl he had sat out.

“H-Hey!” Mark rushed to stop the kids. “Can’t you guys read the sign?” He pointed to the piece of paper that read “take two”.

“We were just looking at the selection,” one of the rebellious boys explained while slowly slipping his hand back out of the bowl. “We weren’t planning on taking more than two sir.”

Mark’s alerted posture weakened a little bit. He began to smile. “Well I guess I could let you guys have an extra piece if you want.”

“Really?” The other kid said while folding his hands behind his back.

“Of course, all you guys have to say is the magic word.” Mark took the bowl of the counter and offered it towards the boys, but still waiting for the one syllable word to be given. Tyler watched with a small smile.

The two boys looked at each other, smirked, and then turned back towards the store clerk. The tallest of the two then swiftly snatched the candy bowl right out of Mark’s hands before making a run for it, the other following close behind.

“What the fuck?” Mark exclaimed before trying to catch the thieves, but it was too late as the boys had already busted out the door, making sure to crush all but one pumpkin with their ragged sneakers.

Tyler was hunched over, laughing at his best friend who was just tricked by a couple of meddling kids. It was just so pathetic.

“Stop laughing.” Mark pouted and looked back outside at the dead jack-o-lanterns crushed at their doorstep.

“I’m sorry I just- how didn’t you see that coming?”

“I thought they had a change in heart.”

“Pfft at that age?”

“Shut up”

They spent the rest of their shift cleaning up the pumpkin guts that were splattered and cutting out paper ghosts to hang from the ceiling. They got a few compliments on their decorations that made Mark feel all nice and warm inside. Tyler just wanted to go home.

“Whoa look at these decorations. Did you guys do this?” One of the workers of the night shift asked while touching the cobwebs.

“Yep, just in time for Halloween.” Tyler stuck the last piece of tape to hold up the tablecloth that was spread over the desk.

“I guess we’ll take it from here then. Nice work guys,” The other worker praised as Tyler happily gathered his stuff to go home.

-

Tyler walked into his home to see Josh, Karen, and Harold seated at the couch watching Casper the Ghost on his television.

“Hey guys,” Tyler greeted while sitting his stuff down beside the couch.

“Hello Tyler, how was work?” Harold asked while getting his stuff together.

“Oh you know, the same as usual. Mark decided to decorate the place in favor of Halloween.”

“That sounds like fun,” Karen said after making her final goodbyes to Josh. “I was also getting Josh into the Halloween spirit while you were gone.”

“I can tell.” Tyler gave Josh an amused look. “So what do you think?”

“I love it,” Josh answered after eating his candy corn. “Eating candy is the best part.”

“I can see that.” Tyler opened the door for Mr and Mrs.Thomas to exit their home.“Thanks again you two.”

“Anytime Tyler. Will we be spending Halloween with Josh tomorrow?” Karen asked.

“Nah, I think me and him will be spending it together this year.”

“That sounds nice Tyler. You two be safe,” she said before shooting a wink over Tyler’s shoulder to Josh who was trying to get rid of the small blush crawling up his neck.

Tyler was finally able to close the door.

“You're not going to work tomorrow?” Josh asked with hopeful eyes.

“Well I was going to surprise you, but yeah. I'm going to spend the whole day with you.”

“Didn't you just go back to work today though?”

“Mark doesn't care,” Tyler reassured after carefully sitting beside Josh. “Besides, I think he just wanted some help setting up the Halloween decorations.”

“Can we do that?” Josh asked before sitting on Tyler's opened palm.

“Do what? Put up Halloween decorations?”

“Yeah and give out candy.”

“Of course we can,” Tyler replied. “I'll just have to go out and get some Halloween decorations. Sorry I don't usually decorate for Halloween.”

“Why not?”

Josh began to trace the shallow lines on Tyler's hand. Tyler shrugged his shoulders.

“I guess I never had a reason to decorate. I mean, I _was_ living alone before you came along.”

Josh winced, “I'm sorry.”

“No wait I didn't mean it like that,” Tyler explained. “Josh look at me.”

Josh tore his eyes away from his hands nervously fidgeting in his lap. Tyler stared right back into them.

“I'm glad that you're living with me. You're a really nice guy and it's kind of comforting to have you around. I did live alone, but living with you makes me way happier than I use to be.”

“I'm glad that I make you happy,” Josh admitted. “I don't know why but I always enjoy making you smile and laugh. It's kind of a habit now.”

“That's really nice Josh,” Tyler noted with a blush of his own starting to appear. “And I like doing the same for you.”

As promised, Tyler and Josh left the apartment to go get some Halloween decorations. Josh was excited since this was his first time entering any store in all of his tiny young adult life. He was able to sneak a few peeks over the top hemming of Tyler's shirt pocket, being astonished by the rows of home decor, specialty items that he had never seen before.

“Josh don't stay out for too long,” Tyler ordered while pushing Josh back into his shirt pocket with his finger.

“I was just looking,” Josh murmured while rubbing the top of his head. “Don't be so forceful.”

Tyler allowed Josh to surface once more when it was time to pick out the decorations. They had decided on cobwebs, gloomy purple and green lights, about five jumbo bags of candy, two jack-o-lanterns, and a fake, black cat plushie with bright orange eyes. They gathered the items in the car and arrived home just before sundown.

“We should put the lights over the windows,” Josh suggested while pointing to the glass bay windows that lightened their living room space. “The jack-o-lanterns can go on both sides of the fireplace and the cobwebs can go…” Josh turned around to observe the amount of space he had, weighing his options.

“How about across the cabinets.”

Josh turned to look at Tyler, “That would be perfect.”

In a matter of two hours the apartment was completely decorated. The smile on Josh's face was as wide as it could be, causing his eyes to wrinkle just a bit.

“Wow Tyler this is amazing.”

“It turned out pretty awesome didn't it?” Tyler said, admiring his work and the look on Josh's face. “I think we're all set for tomorrow.”

“I can't wait,” Josh replied, excited for his first ever Halloween that was to come the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you guys know the next update won't be coming until Halloween night, but trust me the wait is worth it I promise.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spooky Jim~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know this is kind of late as it's currently 11:40, but here it is. Happy Halloween.

“Trick or Treat!”

Tyler got up from the couch, grabbing the candy bowl that was seated on the coffee table. His mix-matched Halloween socks shuffled across the hardwood floors glowing with the luminous shading of his brick fireplace flickering in the distance. He opened the door. Spider-Man, Sleeping Beauty, and a transformer looked up at him with their bags held out in front of them.

“Oh look who we have here,” Tyler enthusiastically greeted while giving the kids candy. The kids were bouncing on their toes before leaving just as fast as their arrival.

“Thank You!”

Tyler smiled, closed the door, and rested his head against it.

“When will it stop,” He complained before finally willing himself to sit back onto the couch where Josh was seated.

“They're just kids Tyler,” Josh replied with a small chuckle.

“That doesn’t mean they’re not annoying.” Tyler threw his arm over the back of the couch. “This movie isn’t too scary for you?”

Josh scoffed. “M’not a baby ty.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

Josh huffed and snuggled against Tyler’s thigh. “This movie isn’t really that scary.”

“If you say so.”

Josh’s first Halloween was going pretty well so far. They were able to sleep in this morning and watch cartoons while eating cereal under the warmth of Tyler’s fur blanket. The trick-or-treaters didn’t start coming until about seven. They came in waves, kids lining up one by one to get candy. Josh wanted to give out candy too, but Tyler was determined to keep him out of sight. It was now 9 in the afternoon and they were having a movie marathon of mostly paranormal movies and the occasional horror films that scared Josh the most.

Another jump scare popped onto the tv, causing Josh to jump and coward against Tyler’s pants leg.

“Okay I think that’s enough Josh,” Tyler said while quickly turning off the movie. “Shh it’s okay.”

“The woman wasn’t even in the corner...” Josh was confused, shaking in his oversized sweater.

“I know Josh. Let’s just watch some cartoons, or would you rather watch the X-files?”

“X-files please.”

Tyler smiled and began playing Josh’s favorite tv show.

The Halloween crowd finally died down around eleven. Tyler was growing a bit tired, but Josh was still awake. He looked like he had something on his mind.

“What are you thinking about Josh?” Tyler asked.

“Oh um, it’s nothing,” Josh murmured while twisting his fingers.

“Josh if there’s something in your mind you should tell me,” Tyler pressed. “I care about you.”

“How much?”

“Huh?” Tyler asked with his eyebrows creased.

“How much do you care about me?” Josh repeated with his voice slowly becoming more confident.

“I care about you a lot Josh. You mean the whole world to me at this point.”

“So that night at the lake was real? You really felt the same?”

“Of course” Tyler replied. “Josh I-” He bit his lip, searching for the right words to finally fall out his mouth. “I-”

Tyler hadn’t been this nervous in a long time. He wasn’t good at admitting his feelings. He usually just settled for expressing them in a song rather than face to face such as the situation he was in now. Tyler wanted to tell Josh how he felt so badly but he just- Why couldn’t he just-

“Yeah, me too.”

“No Josh you don’t understand.” Tyler refused to back down. “I need to tell you how I really feel,” He pleaded before pausing to take a deep breath. He started from the beginning.

“When I first met you, I knew that things were about to change for me.” He awkwardly shifted a little where he sat under Josh’s lovingly stare. “You were like, this small ball of sunshine that I had been looking over for the past few years. I have really strong feelings for you, and-” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “And- you’re just so amazing. I was afraid that things couldn’t ever work out between us because, y’now, you’re literally the same size as my superhero action figures that I use to play with as a kid,” Tyler said while chuckling slightly. “But I was proven wrong. _You_ proved me wrong.”

“I can say the same for you Tyler,” Josh spoke softly while beckoning for Tyler to lean down so he could finally press his lips against the other’s. Tyler obliged and met Josh’s small lips halfway.

The kiss was small and sweet; a session of simple pecks that felt oh so good. Josh did it again and again, trying to add up to a full makeout session that weren’t able to do at the time. The kiss was different. The kiss was pure, and better than anything he had ever tasted. Once they pulled away Josh was able to ask what he always wanted to ask. Tyler nodded back with the biggest smile on his face.

Tyler was finally his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so short and I'm sORRY


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day after Halloween, and Tyler and Josh finally get into the whole boyfriend thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I present you guys with yet another chapter that I hope you will enjoy. Have a nice day~

Josh woke up from his candy coma with the worst stomach ache. He turned onto his side in Tyler’s limp palm resting on the small couch pillow, and scooted over until he was settled in the space between Tyler’s thumb and index finger, spooning his thumb urgently. Tyler was already awake. He was waiting for Josh to wake up, taking the opportunity to stare affectionately at him when he was asleep. Watching Josh cuddle up to his thumb caused him to smirk. He warned Josh about eating too much candy last night, but Josh had simply brushed him off. Now he stands corrected with Josh letting out occasional mewls from the deep pain that seemed to ache all over. It wasn’t long until the show became dull, and Tyler was quick to stroke the soft pink hair of his lovely Josh.

“Did you sleep well?” Tyler sarcastically asked, being rewarded with the fury in Josh’s eyes.

“Shut up Tyler,” Josh pathetically snapped back before pressing his stomach against Tyler’s thumb even more. “It hurts so bad.”

“Then let me help,” Tyler offered. “Roll onto your back.”

Josh rolled his eyes, but nonetheless pried himself away from the comfort source and centered himself in Tyler’s palm. Tyler used his free hand to lift Josh’s shirt to expose his smooth torso designed with delightful abs. Underneath the muscles showed his defined v-line that traveled lower and lower-

“Tyler quit staring,” Josh ordered while becoming flustered underneath Tyler’s gaze.

“I can’t help but to stare Josh,” Tyler replied. “You’re beautiful.”

“Tyler…” Josh wiggled, his cheeks turning pink.

Tyler stopped Josh’s movements with the firm touch of his index finger. He was getting a few ideas, seeing Josh so vulnerable for him, but he decided to just stick to the plan. Replacing his thumb with his index finger, Tyler began to rub small circles along Josh’s tummy. Josh melted, relishing in Tyler’s touch which was better than Mrs.Thomas’. He found himself floating away, eyes closed, arms and legs sprawled out against the hand holding him up.

Tyler continued, seeing how Josh was enjoying himself in his hold. He noticed his hardening nipples and hesitated before cautiously, lightly massaging one of the nubs with the same circular movements. Josh’s eyebrows creased from the strange feeling, but he stayed still. It wasn’t until Tyler’s thumb swiveled around in such a way that caused Josh to slip out an audible gasp.

His hand clasped over his mouth and Tyler retracted his hand quickly.

“Sorry I got a little carried away.”

“It’s fine,” Josh shyly reassured while pulling his shirt back down. “I just really wasn’t expecting that.”

“I’m really sorry Josh.”

“Tyler you didn’t do anything wrong,” Josh promised, but Tyler was slowly slipping away, regret painted across his face, eyes all over the place not knowing where to look.

“Everything’s okay Tyler. We’re okay.” Josh walked over to Tyler’s pinkie and left a few small kisses against the padding.

“But I should've warned you. I lost my composure and I was being stupid.” Tyler refused to meet Josh’s soft eyes staring up at him. “I’m going too fast.”

“We work at our own pace Ty. If you were going to fast for me to handle, I would’ve told you. I reacted like that because no one has ever done anything to me along those lines. I didn’t know how to react.” Josh said while caressing Tyler.

Time passed until Tyler was finally able to meet Josh's eyes.

“Okay” Tyler responded as he slowly fell back to earth, taking deep breaths. “I think I’m alright now.”

“I’m proud of you baby. You did such a good job.”

Tyler smiled down at Josh who was still wrapped around his finger. “I’m proud of you too.”

-

Tyler wore the same smile when entering his workplace later that day. Mark was surprised.

“Well you’re in a good mood this morning. What’s the big news?”

Tyler shook his head, “It’s nothing.”

“If you say so. Hey, that kid’s suppose to be coming in for his lessons today. You think you can handle him?”

“Maybe” Tyler replied while grabbing the extra ukulele from behind the desk. He forgot that he was going to have to teach today, so the low-quality soprano ukulele would have to do. “How old is this kid anyway?”

“I dunno he looked about nineish or so. Good luck,” Mark said before clasping a hand on Tyler’s shoulder and entering the storage room.

Tyler passed time by getting familiar with the ukulele once more. He played a few tunes from his abandoned band Twenty One Pilots, and sung the lyrics from some of Josh’s favorite songs that Josh would hum during the day. The boy and his mom showed up right on time, and Tyler was quick to introduce himself.

“Good morning, I’m Tyler.”

“Hello Tyler, I’m Sydney and this is my son Christian.”

The mother pushed her son forward who was shyly holding onto his ukulele. “He’s a bit shy.”

“Well that’s not a problem. I’m actually a little shy myself,” Tyler informed while crouching down to the boy with glasses. “Hi Christian.”

The kid gripped onto his mom’s hand. “Hi”

“We’re going to have a lot of fun today. I’m going to teach you how to play your ukulele. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

The child nodded his head while showing Tyler the one he was holding by the neck. “My ukulele is blue.”

“That’s a pretty blue.”

“What do you say sweetheart?” Christian’s mom coaxed while giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you.”

Tyler smiled, “You’re welcome.”

The mom gave her final goodbyes before leaving the store. Christian looked lost without his mom, but Tyler simply placed his hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Let’s get started.”

-

Josh was sitting on his window sill with Karen seated in a chair not so far from him. In his hand were two broken off tips from a pair of toothpicks to work as crochet hooks with what looked like a knotted napkin hanging in between them. Karen on the other hand was almost done with her perfected beanie.

“Are you having some trouble Josh?” Karen asked after looking up at a troublesome Josh.

“No I almost got it,” Josh claimed, but the yarn ended up somehow slipping off one of the hooks. He tried to catch it, but once he did he pulled on the string, causing his progressing scarf to loose a bit of its form. Josh groaned out of frustration.

“Oh my that’s the third time isn't it? Let’s move onto something else,” Karen said after completing her beanie. “How was your Halloween?”

Josh blushed, “It was pretty good.”

“Really now, what did you do?”

“Tyler and I watched some scary movies and ate a lot of candy. There were some kids that came by to trick or treat, but Tyler wouldn’t let me give out candy.”

“Well that’s a shame. You didn’t get a stomach ache did you?”

“No” Josh lied with his fingers laced behind his back. “I guess my stomach could handle it after all.”

Mrs. Thomas raised her eyebrow, but left it alone. “I guess so. I’m glad you had a good time Josh.”

“Thanks, where’s Mr. Thomas?”

“Harold isn’t feeling so well Josh,” Karen explained. “He decided to stay home today.”

“Will he be alright?” Josh asked.

“Of course dear. Harold will be up and at 'em in no time.”

There was a bit of silence in between them, both of them hiding something that just couldn’t be said. Josh was about to break the silence, but the doorbell cut him off. Karen was quick to respond.

“I wonder who’s at the door,” she said cheerily while getting out of her seat. “I won’t be long Joshua.”

Josh nodded and watched the old woman make her way out of his bedroom. He looked outside the window to his left to see the skyline lined across the horizon. He knew that Tyler was out there, probably working or doing whatever he did away from home. Josh hoped that he was okay. He knew that this morning was a bit startling for him, including himself.

The feeling he felt was so abnormal. One moment he was completely out of it, and then the next he was suddenly even more out of it. It didn’t stop the feeling, but intensified it, making his toes involuntarily curl for just a moment. The fact that Tyler was able to trigger such passion with just the movement of his thumb had Josh wondering what else he could do to cause that feeling, but the feeling was more than just a _feeling_. It was a drug, and Josh wanted more.

“Has Tyler been ordering offline Josh?” Karen asked after returning from up the hall. “That young man brought many packages, and said that they were for Tyler.”

“Oh yeah those are my clothes,” Josh said, snapping out of his thoughts. “Tyler will probably deal with them when he gets home.”

“Okay” Karen replied before taking a seat. “Are you two still doing okay?”

“Of course” Josh said with a smile on his face. “We’re just fine.”

They left the subject alone after that and Josh decided to give the unfinished crochet scarf from before another shot. Karen mentored him this time, showing Josh how to do it step by step, something she should’ve done the first time. Tyler came home to greet the many boxes placed in his living room.

“Josh?” He called while slipping off his jacket to place over the back of the chair. Mrs. Thomas and Josh came out from down the hall.

“Tyler” Josh happily responded as Karen handed him off to Tyler.

She then left, and Tyler and Josh were finally alone.

“Hi”

“Hey” Tyler responded, pressing their noses together.

“Tyler you do realize you’re just sticking your nose in my face right? I can see up your nose,” Josh commented while wrinkling up his nose.

“Be quiet,” Tyler hushed while moving Josh away from his face and placing a small kiss on his tiny lips. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yeah, it was pretty great. How about yours?” Josh asked after Tyler placed him on the coffee table in their living room.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Tyler said. “So what are going to do about these boxes?”

“Well we could open them,” Josh replied as if pointing out the obvious.

“Nah I think we should burn them,” Tyler joked before grabbing a knife from the kitchen. “These are probably your clothes.”

“I was thinking the same thing earlier.” Josh sat down and crossed his legs. “We’re going to have to shrink them.”

“Duh” Tyler uttered after opening the first box.

Josh’s clothes were taken out of the box and organized across the floor. The shirts were lined up in one row, pants in another, and the list went on. Tyler had to take his time and carefully shrink every piece of clothing in order to avoid getting any on the couch or even his clothes as they would end up shrinking as well.

“You’re taking a really long time,” Josh complained from where he was seated.

“That’s because I’m trying not to shrink anything unnecessary.”

“Okay, but you’re taking forever.”

“C’mon Josh I’m almost done here. Just give me ten more minutes.”

“Fine, but only ten,” Josh ordered before lying down on the coffee table. “I’m getting hungry.”

It actually took a whole fifteen minutes for Tyler to finish the job (Josh counted) before he could finally start dinner. They planned on going to the toy store later this week to get Josh some furniture for storage. Josh only agreed to the idea when Tyler promised that they were to buy anything, but barbie doll products for the sake of his dignity. For dinner they had grilled chicken and asparagus. Josh didn’t like the idea of eating vegetables, but he knew that Tyler would be upset if he didn’t eat his cooking, so he ate the green veggies to see the smile on Tyler’s face just by him finishing his meal.

They retired to the sweet smelling sheets of Tyler’s bed, sharing small kisses in the glow of the waxing moon in the starless night sky. It felt good to be able to touch each other like the couple they were. Josh was completely infatuated with Tyler, loving the small gestures Tyler would give him and being able to call him the cheesiest pet names. Tyler was completely satisfied with what he had, even if his partner was a little short in size. Tyler knew that everything was going to be okay, at least for tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so just as a warning, because the holidays are coming upon us it is also that time of year when teachers give their students A LOT of homework and projects in order to get enough grades in the grade book before the end of the year. Because of this I will be really, really busy so updates will be a bit slower until I'm finally out for the holidays. This doesn't mean I'll be gone for like a whole month or so, but yeah, it's just going to take a while until I'm back to updating regularly, so just please bare with me and hopefully it will all end soon. Plus, the smut of this fic is nearing you guys. Believe me I have a few tricks up my sleeve that I just can't wait to share.  
> (And no Tyler will not be fucking Josh. Can you imagine that? Tyler would literally split Josh in half lol)


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler and Josh make a trip to the toy store, and not everything goes as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed your thanksgiving break :)

Tyler buttoned up his shirt, leaving the top two buttons untouched. He smoothed out the clothing with his hand before running his fingers through his hair. While looking in the mirror, he was able to see Josh over his shoulder, standing on his window sill and slipping on his own shirt. The sunlight bathed his skin, his red hair making the perfect contrast. Their eyes met. Josh lowered his eyes to scan over Tyler’s lean body. Every curve, even his long legs fitted underneath those unforgiving skinny jeans left Josh breathless. His eyes eventually made their way back up to meet the same eyes from before, a small glint of affection still lingering in the chocolate hues.

“You look nice,” Josh complimented with a sly smile. Tyler shied away from the compliment, looking down at his black doc martins.

“You do too,” He quietly replied before finally turning around. “You’re not nervous are you?”

“Why would I be? We’re just going to the toy store,” Josh remarked. “I’m actually kind of excited.”

“Just making sure.” Tyler walked over to Josh and offered his hand. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah” Josh checked his hair one more time before stepping onto Tyler’s palm. To be truthful, Josh was actually feeling very apprehensive about their trip to the store today. He knew there was nothing to worry about. Tyler was there to keep him safe, to guide him even when something unfamiliar came about. But something could easily go wrong. He could get caught or lost in the scary new place. Josh just couldn’t ignore the “what if’s” of today’s activities. At least he had Tyler to get him through it.

They caught a taxi, and Tyler allowed Josh to peek over his pocket to watch the city pass by the car windows. It was a calm drive through Ohio. There was soft music coming from the car speakers, and Josh couldn’t help but to tap along against Tyler’s chest as Tyler hummed. The soft hum from the car ceased as they rode up on their destination. Josh sunk back down into Tyler's pocket as Tyler paid the driver, walking them up to the brick building. The store smelled like candy to Josh, and there were kids scattered about which made Tyler stick out like a sore thumb as he was probably the oldest costumer. The furniture was located on aisle 8 along with doll houses and other doll accessories. Josh was looking at the selections, tiny hands gripping the top hemming of Tyler's shirt pocket. They ended up stopping by the Barbie products.

“Keep walking,” Josh ordered while looking in the other direction. Tyler laughed.

“C’mon Josh I know you can't say no to that glittery bed set.”

“Nu-uh not happening.”

“Suit yourself,” Tyler replied as he continued to walk.

Josh seemed to take a liking to a small bedroom set that had blue accents.

“Can you set me down?” Josh asked.

Tyler lowered him beside the toys and watched carefully as Josh traced the picture on the box. He judged the picture, questioning if the dressers and “exclusive realistic mirror” was aesthetically pleasing for him.

“What do you think?” Tyler asked when Josh finally turned away from the box.

“I like it.”

“This one it is.”

Tyler picked up the product and placed Josh back into his shirt pocket. They were about to check out until Tyler suddenly saw a flash of blonde hair whip around the corner.

_Could it be? No. It couldn't possibly be her. Not now-_

“Is everything okay Ty?” Josh asked with concern written all over his face.

Tyler turned pale. “Yeah just hold on a second Josh,” he said before finding a dollhouse on display and sitting Josh in front of the front door.

“Wait what's going on?”

“I'll be back Josh. Go inside the house and don't come out until you hear me knock on the door.”

Tyler swiftly left and went on the hunt for Jenna. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, but he had to ask why she came into the store the other day. What did she really want to say to him? If she really did get the store wrong, so be it. Tyler just had to know.

“Jenna!” Tyler called when he went down the right aisle with Disney princess. Jenna was right there, looking at pair of plastic blue slippers.

“Tyler?” She asked in disbelief and setting down the shoes. Tyler opened his mouth.

“Before you say anything, I swear I had know idea that you would be here.”

“I-It's okay. That's not what I wanted to talk about,” Tyler replied while scratching the back of his neck. “I wanted to talk about last week.”

Jenna blinked twice.

“Oh you mean when I saw you in the shop.”

“Yeah. Jenna was that really an accident?”

“Yes… and no.”

Tyler arched his eyebrow.

“Okay so I was meaning to tell you something that same day, but I wasn't so sure about it. I decided to get some advice from Mark. Y’now, to make sure if this was a good time to bring up the past. I knew that you might've been working that day, but Mark was the only person I saw through the store window. I walked in, but there you were and I just really wasn't expecting that. You caught me off guard.”

“What were you going to tell me?”

“It doesn't really matter anymore,” Jenna murmured while staring out into the distance. “Just forget it.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Tyler sighed and shoved his hands back into his pockets in defeat. “I guess I'll see you around then.”

He was about to walk off, but he felt a soft hand clasp down on his shoulder. He looked over to see Jenna’s blue eyes staring back at him, searching.

“Are you okay Tyler?” She asked in a concerned voice.

“I'm fine.”

Tyler left without another word and made his way back over to the wooden dollhouse that Josh was hiding in. He made sure it was the right one before knocking on the small red door. No one opened the door. He knocked again, “Josh are you in there?” Again, no one opened the door.

A numb feeling began to grow in Tyler's chest. He decided to not to panic, not until he put down his basket and took the dollhouse off the shelf, cracking it open to check every room inside. Josh was nowhere to be found.

“Josh?” Tyler called out. “C’mon Josh this isn't funny.”

He checked every other house on display, knocking on their brightly colored doors and searching throughout every inch of space. He confirmed that Josh was no longer on this aisle, and went to go search elsewhere.

Josh wasn't in the stuff animals.

Josh wasn't with the action figures.

Hell, Josh wasn't even in the candy aisle.

Tyler couldn't see straight. He promised Josh that he would look out for him, and now he was gone. Well, not exactly. He spotted a little girl seated in the middle of the baby aisle. She was sitting with her legs criss-crossed and happily rambling to a small figure with bright red hair. Right there in her very hands, was Josh.

Tyler was so happy he could've cried. He scrambled back onto his feet, shopping basket still in a firm grip as he hurried to the child with high pigtails. He hoped to somehow persuade the girl to handover his boyfriend.

“Hey there,” Tyler greeted while crouching down.

The child stopped talking, and Josh turned around at the sound of his voice.

“What do you want?” She hesitantly asked while pulling Josh closer to her.

“Oh nothing, I was just really interested in that toy you have there. Where did you get it?”

“I found him. He's my new best friend,” she replied happily while holding Josh out in front of her.

“Well little girl-”

“Peyton”

“Peyton,” Tyler repeated while staring down at her for approval. “That toy has a very special gift.”

“I know, he can talk.”

“That's not all he can do,” Tyler noted. “This toy is also very dangerous.”

Josh gave him a questioning look. The little girl laughed.

“Tony isn't dangerous,” she said with a grin on her face. “He's nice.”

“That's where you're wrong. Jos-"

"His name is Tony."

"Fine,  _Tony_ is very bad. He lies, cheats, and worst of all…” Tyler leaned in real close as if telling the world's biggest secret. “He has cooties.”

“Ew gross!” The girl was quick to get rid of Josh by shoving him into Tyler's welcoming hands. She crossed her arms.

“You can keep him.”

“I would be happy to.”

Peyton stood up and left to go find her mom. Tyler waited until she went around the corner before looking down at Josh.

“What are cooties?” Josh asked with a worried expression. “Tyler am I sick?”

Tyler chuckled, “no Josh I was just kidding.”

“But the girl, she was really afraid of me.”

“Who cares what she thinks,” Tyler replied. “I'm just glad I found you.”

He lowered his head to give Josh a tiny kiss.

“I promise you she found me first,” Josh reassured. “I was kidnapped.”

“It looked like you were having a really fun time with Peyton though.” Tyler scanned their purchase at the self checkout. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Oh y’now, girl stuff.”

“I figured.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever wondered how Josh got so small in the first place?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again and I am back with another chapter! This one is kind of long, so yeah here you go.

Josh folded his pair of skinny jeans before placing them in his drawer that was placed not so far away from his new bed, mirror, and nightstand. He made sure to have everything organized and folded. He took well care of the items Tyler bought him, as this was the first time he had ever own something other than the few clothes he was sent with including the cramped chest that he would not dare to ever go back in. Tyler was sprawled out on the bed, scrolling through some article on his phone, one ear bud shoved in his ear as he took calm, shallow breaths.

Josh glanced over to Tyler after putting his last pair of socks away. He sighed, wondering if Tyler would ever be open with him about Jenna. He knew he probably couldn’t do much to help, but Tyler was his boyfriend. It was his job to make sure Tyler was happy and content; he never wanted to see him any other way. Josh would have to wait for Tyler to be open with him, but for how long? He wanted to help him as soon as possible, but how could he with Tyler always running away, thinking that he was protecting Josh by shielding him away from the chaos infesting his brain, his life. The only thing Josh wanted to do was help.

Tyler put down his phone before sitting up to streatch. Josh looked away and started to straighten out his bedsheets. Tyler reached back down to pick up his device once more, but it was nowhere to be found. He checked underneath the sheets. How could he lose something he just put down a second ago? A couple minutes past until Tyler slid his hand underneath his sneaky pillow, feeling the cool surface of his phone. He lifted the pillow and saw his phone lying underneath it. There was also a small journal that was hidden underneath the pillow. There was no title on it. It was black, and had a smooth surface.

Forgetting about his phone, Tyler picked up the miniature journal instead, opening it up to see what was inside. There were drawings, a dozen of them that filled up about half of the pages in the journal. Some were just sketches of plants including his cactus that had suffered a tragedy just a couple weeks ago, but most of the drawings were of him. They weren’t that bad either. The drawings were detailed and well drawn. Josh was truly an artist as he seemed to get every specimen of Tyler’s face. It was embarrassing.

“Where did you find that?”

Tyler jumped, startled by Josh’s tiny voice that barely reached him from across the room. He hurried to close the book.

“I found it,” Tyler said while giving Josh an apologetic look. “I couldn’t find my phone a few minuets ago, and when I did your journal just happened to be there. I’m sorry.”

Josh was angry, but his expression softened when Tyler began to become fidgety and shy. Those were never good signs.

“It’s okay Ty. It wasn’t your fault.” Josh sat down on his bed. “Besides, I should’ve been more careful.”

Tyler chewed on his lip, “I still opened it.”

“But you didn’t know.”

“I guess.”

“Can you get me from over here?”

Tyler nodded and walked across the room to retrieve Josh. He carried him over to his bed before lying back down in the same spot from before. Josh joined him, lazily lying down on his stomach.

“Josh?”

“Hm?”

“How did you get so small?”

“Tyler I don’t know if I want to talk about that right now,” Josh admitted, curling in on himself.

“Josh, you know you can tell me anything right?”

“Anything?”

“ _Anything._ ” Tyler confirmed while rubbing his finger through Josh’s hair. “I’m all ears.”

Josh chuckled, “You’re going to think I’m insane.”

“So what if I do? I’ll still love you.”

Josh snorted.

“Well if you insist,” he murmured against Tyler’s shirt. “It’s because of my mom.”

“Your mom did this too you?”

Josh nodded, “It was for her job. She’s a scientist and works for the government.”

“Wait, so she’s apart of some important secrete organization like the CIA?”

“Even more secrete. She works for PLATO.”

“PLATO” Tyler repeated under his breath. “I think I’ve heard of that.”

“Believe me, you haven’t. PLATO is a organization responsible for diplomatic relations with-” Josh stopped himself from saying the word, hesitating.

“Relations with what?” Tyler pressed.

“With aliens.”

_Oh._

“That’s… interesting.” Tyler ran his fingers through his hair. “I never thought aliens were real.”

Josh scoffed, “Trust me, they’re definitely real.”

“But what did PLATO have to do with you? You’re just her son.”

“Exactly, I’m her only child. There was this project that the government had. They wanted to see if they could shrink things and send them out into outer space, preferably to another planet if they could like Mars or even Venus.”

“To look for aliens.”

“Yep,” Josh answered. “In order to do that they had to build a shrink ray. It took a team of five to do it, a team of some of the country’s smartest scientists and professors ever known, including my mom. They first tested it on objects like apples and oranges. They then stepped it up a bit by testing on larger items like cars. Soon enough, they wanted to test the shrink ray on a person.”

“Which happened to be you,” Tyler concluded.

“Not at first. They tried a lot of “volunteers” before me, people who willingly gave themselves to science. Bullshit.”

“Did they survive?”

“Some of them did, but they suffered from some side effects that soon led to their death. Their bodies couldn’t handle it.  When there was no one left to test they turned towards their family members. My mom offered me.”

“But didn’t she love you? I mean, you were her only child.”

“This project was literally her life Tyler,” Josh said in all seriousness. “My mom would leave the house and wouldn’t come back for weeks. Project M was all she would ever talk about. The worst thing was that she was so fascinated by the idea. She once told me about the time they were able to shrink a child. A _child_ Tyler. The kid wasn’t even old enough to drive.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Tyler retorted with a look of disgust. “I just can’t believe she chose you.”

“I thought that too.” Josh recollected himself and continued with his story. “I was taken into their headquarters the very next day. Everyone was scattered about, discussing the guidelines of the experiment and what variables they should switch. I was quiet the whole time. I remember being pissed - not just at my mom, but at everyone, everything. I was put underneath this machine. It was huge, and white, and… I just couldn’t believe that I was actually standing there. I couldn’t stop thinking about that child, how he felt to be under something so terrifying.”

“I understand.” Tyler said.

“The process went by in a blur. My ears were ringing after seeing a bright light literally surround me out of nowhere. I felt like I was dying, but just my luck, I survived. At first I was relieved. They had doctors examine me and with the exception of some nausea, I was perfectly fine. Everyone was happy and in disbelief. As for me, I didn’t know how to feel. The only thing I wanted to do was sleep.”

“I don’t blame you,” Tyler commented with a chuckle. Josh wasn’t laughing.

“PLATO wanted to keep me since I was the only one strong enough to be shrunk. They didn’t even think to change me back, and when I asked my mom if they could, she said that it would be too risky. My mom actually said no to PLATO. I was surprised by that, but I guess she just felt guilty for ruining my life without my permission. I mean, this was all her fault after all. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her.”

“To keep me safe, she sent me here to Ohio. PLATO is probably still after me, but to be honest, I literally don’t care anymore. It’s been twenty years since the incident.”

“Well I will never let them take you back there Josh,” Tyler promised. “You went through hell, and I just- I can’t believe you made it this far.”

“Me too.”

Tyler and Josh lied there for a bit longer until Tyler’s stomach growled underneath Josh’s head. They made spaghetti this time. Josh watched as Tyler boiled the noodles and stirred the crimson sauce that smelled better than anything he’d ever cooked. Josh wished he could cook. He wished he could cook Tyler a meal every day while he was at work, so he could surprise him with his favorite food after having a hard day. Maybe one day, but no time soon.

They ate on the couch while watching some cheesy comedy. Josh was just fine with the show because he was seated in Tyler’s lap, eating the best spaghetti in the world and laughing until his stomach hurt. Like a gentlemen, Tyler took their plates into the kitchen to clean up. Josh rubbed his stomach, feeling drowsy from all the good food.

“Are you tired?” Tyler Jokily asked when seeing Josh dizzily spread out on the couch cushion.

“A little bit,” Josh replied after cracking open his eyelids. Today was more tiring than he thought.

“C’mon sleepyhead, let’s get you into bed.”

Josh wasn’t able to sleep right away when they retired to Tyler’s bed. The moon was shining bright through their window, and seemed to keep him awake even though it wasn’t the real problem. Even though she was the exact reason why Josh could never be normal, Laura was a good mother.

And Josh missed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. my. god.  
> It has been soo long >.< I just finished like my third final today, and I swear it feel like my brain is melting. Anyway, there's only four more days until my christmas break and I'm soo excited. Not only does that mean more sleep, but I also get to updated more chapters for you lovies yay!  
> I've also been seeing that some people are taking interest in my Life as Short as the Falling of Snow story, and I'm just wondering if any of you want me to continue it. I've always thought it was a bit weird, but this week it reached 100 kudos so that means at least someone out there is still reading it. Tell me what you guys think and I'll hopefully be back soon.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler takes Josh to work with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello here is another chapter that I hope you will love. *WARNING* There is a spider in this chapter so please be careful buttercup.

Tyler stared down at a sleeping Josh. His mouth was slightly ajar, breathing in and out as his fisted hand involuntarily clenched  from whatever dream he was having. Tyler wasn’t sure how to wake the sleeping beauty. He didn’t want to startle him, but if he let Josh sleep any longer they would be late. He settled for the latter, and poked Josh in his side. Josh let out a small grunt, but still clinged onto his slumber. Tyler poked him repeatedly until Josh groaned while uselessly  swatting his hand back at the index finger.

“What do you want Tyler?”

“It’s time to wake up.”

“Ty, it’s like nine in the morning,” he replied before reluctantly sitting up, rubbing his adjusting eyes.

“I brought you breakfast,” Tyler sheepishly bargained while sitting a plate of bacon and eggs onto Josh’s tiny lap. “I know it’s a bit early, but I have something planned for you today.”

“Like what?” Josh asked while leaning back against the side of Tyler’s thigh.

“I want to take you to work with me.”

Josh choked on his eggs.

“Why?”

“Remember the night you told me you didn’t like it when I left to go to work?”

Josh nodded.

“I was thinking that I could probably start taking you with me. Plus, things aren’t going so well with the neighbors,” Tyler explained, scratching the back of his neck. “But you don’t have to go. I could probably work things out with Brendon or something...”

“No, please don’t,” Josh said while pinching the bridge of his nose. “That guy has problems.”

“He seemed pretty professional to me.”

“Just- Don’t fall for it okay? Stay away from him.”

“O..kay?” Tyler responded, eyebrows creased. “So are you coming or not?”

“I would love to.”

Josh finished the last bit of his breakfast before beckoning for Tyler to carry him. Tyler picked him up and sat him down on the window sill before leaving to put on his work clothes; a black button up shirt and khaki pants. They quickly dressed, and Tyler shoved Josh into his pocket, grabbing his wallet before leaving the apartment.

“Hurry and get in.” Mark encouraged while shoving the last bit of his egg mcmuffin into his mouth in record time before throwing it somewhere in the back seat of his car.

“We’re running late.”

“And who’s fault is that?” Tyler sassed, quickly buckling his seatbelt and sneaking a glance down at Josh.

“Whatever man.”

They took the usual route to work, alternative music blaring from the car speakers that grabbed Josh’s interest. Tyler watched him with a small grin, feeling the light tapping of his tiny hands mimicking the drum solo on the cd. It didn’t take long for Mark to notice his strangeness.

“What’s so interesting in that pocket of yours?” He asked while leaning over the dashboard to sneak a glance.

“I brought Josh with me.”

“Really? Why is he hiding in your pocket then? Hey Josh, come on out!” Mark called out, causing Josh to peak over Tyler’s pocket with a scowl. It was too early for this.

“Can you not be so loud?”

“Sheesh, someone’s grumpy.”

“He’s been grumpy this entire morning,” Tyler explained while shooting Josh a look.

“So he’s going to be spending the day with us?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably show him a thing or two. The man’s never been in a music store before.”

“Well it’s not as exciting as it sounds.” Mark chuckled. “But I’m sure he will find something to do.”

They arrived at the workplace with two minutes to spare. They hurried to unlock the shop and clocked in before being counted late. Josh was abandoned on the front desk to fiddle around with some pens scattered about. He observed his surroundings, spotting hundreds of instruments on display that he’d never seen before. The ground was covered with grey carpet and the ceilings were high with air vents scattered about. A soundbooth sat in the far right corner.

“Are you doing okay?”

Josh looked back at Tyler who had just returned from the back room. “Yeah, I’m doing alright,” he reassured with a small nod.

“Okay tell me if you need anything.”

Josh was left alone once again as Tyler walked off to restock guitar picks. Josh didn’t have much to do for entertainment. He mostly picked at his fingernails and sketched on a ripped sheet of paper with the detached point of a broken pencil. Tyler would come and hide him whenever a customer appeared. Josh would have to stay quiet while hiding underneath pieces of paper or in Mark’s beanie that smelled of strawberry shampoo. He noted that it was about time to re dye his hair. He should probably change the color of it this time, maybe to something softer like pink or blue. He planned on letting Tyler choose from between the two.

Josh somehow persuaded Tyler to let him roam around the store on his own since business was running a bit slow this morning. The only problem was that he would have to travel by foot, which was a bit scary since everything was so intimidating and new. It took him an hour to make it to the drums. He was out of breath, his mouth drier than a desert, but he made it. He wasn’t able to sit behind the drums as the seat was way out of his reach. Josh would’ve asked for help, but Tyler was on the other side of the store, and it wasn’t like Josh had enough energy left  to make that kind of trip.

At least the bass drum was low enough for Josh to touch. His fingers grazed over the crafted material, paying attention to every groove and embroidering along the big drum. He dreamt of beating the drum with all he had while using his drumsticks to make music that everyone would love. Josh always wanted to be in a band. Perhaps when he’s big enough, he would be able to drum along to the singing of Tyler’s voice. Tyler would be on stage, strumming the strings of his ukulele and Josh would be right there with him, hitting his prized drumset in sync with his talented boyfriend. The day couldn’t come soon enough.

Josh wanted to get a look at the overall design of the drums, so he walked around until suddenly walking into something thin and sticky. He couldn’t move. The wall had no plans on letting him go as he struggled against the force. The more he fought, the more he was wrapped inside the cobweb, sticking to his hair and getting stuck in his mouth.

“Help!” He yelled when he saw that there was no way out.

And what would a spider web be without the spider itself.

Crawling out of the shadows was a spider with hairy legs and beady eyes. The spider wasn’t poisonous, but damn him if Josh wasn’t fearing for his life. The spider crept upon its prey, long legs inching towards Josh who was desperately trying to escape. He knew that the chances of getting eaten were not slim, and his death would surely come if he couldn’t get out of the spider web in time.

“Tyler!” He screamed while kicking back at the spider to keep it away. “Tyler, come help me!”

Josh was wrapped in so much cobwebs that he was soon unable to move overall. He began to panic, seeing black dots spot his vision and feeling his air supply lessen because of his constricting throat. With the last of his voice, he quietly, weakly pleaded,

_“I need you.”_

Then, right before the spider could stick its fangs into his neck, a giant shoe came out of nowhere and landed directly on the spider. The impact made a loud noise that made Josh’s ears hurt, but it disappeared as fast as its arrival as the shoe grinded against the carpet, crushing the spider even more.

“Stupid spiders, always showing up in the most annoying places,” Mark mumbled to himself before moving his foot off of the insect. “Ew I think it's on my shoe,” he worried, but when he leaned down to check the bottom of his shoe he was surprised to see a hyperventilating Josh with blown eyeballs, tangled in a spider web.

“Josh!” Mark said in shock before reaching down underneath the drums to retrieve him, but one touch was enough to make Josh flinch.

“Get. Tyler. Please.”

Mark nodded and called out for Tyler to come see what was wrong. Tyler was there in record time, squatting down to do an inspection.

“Are you alright?”

Josh shook his head no and Tyler hurried to save him from whatever was keeping him from moving. They moved into the back room of the shop for some privacy, where Tyler carefully untangled Josh who was still a bit jumpy.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked after removing the last of the spider web from Josh’s hair.

Josh shook his head no again and brought his knees up to his chest. He wanted to go home.

“Don’t hide from me,” Tyler insisted while drying Josh’s eyes with his pinkie. “You’re safe alright? Nothing is going to hurt you. I’m never letting you out of my sight, starting now.”

Josh felt Tyler’s lips on the top of his head. He maneuvered on his palm until he was able to reach his thumb, wrapping his arms around the digit. He began to sob quietly. Tyler was patient with Josh, using his other finger to gently rub Josh’s back. He blamed himself for Josh’s incident. He should’ve paid more attention to him. It was too easy for Josh to get hurt.

The spider probably could’ve eaten him, and it would’ve been all his fault. He almost lost Josh for good, but Tyler wouldn’t let it happen again. Josh was to be protected at all costs, not to the point where someone was constantly breathing down his neck, but enough to make sure he didn’t get hurt. Josh was his responsibility _and_ his boyfriend. One mistake could take everything away.

Josh’s crying came to a stop and left him feeling drained. He was dirty, tired, and scarred for the most part as this truly was one of the worst days of his life.

"Wannagohome.”

“You want to go home?”

Josh weakly nodded before meeting Tyler’s eyes with his red ones. “Please.”

“Okay sure. Let’s go home Josh,” Tyler replied before carrying him out of the “staff only” room and out into the shop.

“Goodbye, please come again!” Mark called out behind their last customer. He then turned around. “Oh hey guys.”

“Hey” Tyler responded while protectively holding Josh. “Did we miss lunch?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry I still got you two something,” Mark said while showing them a bag of chipotle. “How’s Josh doing?”

“M’fine” Josh spoke from where he was falling asleep on Tyler’s palm.

“He wants to go home.”

“I figured,” Mark said with a chuckle. “I think we all need to go home. C’mon, I’ll drive you guys.”

Mark drove them both home as Josh fell asleep in Tyler’s shirt pocket. After the twenty minute drive, he wished Tyler well, and told him to give an update about Josh over the phone when he got a chance. Tyler promised he would before waving goodbye to his friend. He went inside the building with their lunch clutched in one hand before riding the elevator to the twelve floor. He entered his apartment, taking off his shoes by the front door and leaving the fast food bag on the dining table for later.

“Let’s get you into bed.” Tyler half mindedly said to Josh when entering their bedroom. He went over to Josh’s window sill before carefully removing him from his shirt pocket and onto the bedsheets. He hesitated to take off Josh’s clothes, but sleeping in those tight skinny jeans surely wasn’t comfortable, so Tyler cautiously removed Josh’s buttoned up shirt, jeans, black socks, and red shoes. Josh was left in his checkered boxers that hugged his hips just right, outlining his small package that Tyler wouldn’t dare to touch while he was sleeping. He tucked him into bed before leaving him to peacefully rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone had a great christmas (if you celebrated) this year! I got like, three twenty one pilots vinyls and a vinyl record player so yeah, I'm so frickin' happy. If you want, tell me what you got for christmas in the comments below \\(^_^)/ Most of you guys have been so quiet for some reason... I hope everyone is feeling alright bc I worry about every single one of you. Anyways, thx for reading and expect more soon.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler soothingly rubbed his two fingers along Josh’s thigh. 
> 
> “Do you trust me?”
> 
> “Of course”
> 
> “Good”  
> -  
> Otherwise known as the smut you've been waiting for :p

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes there is smut in this (lol ikr finally) and I hope it isn't bad. If smut isn't your thing don't worry you can skip this chapter as there's nothing that important going on. Other than that, have fun.

Flustered and hot, Josh woke up from his rather, pleasurable dream in his quiet bedroom that lacked the presence of his boyfriend. He sat up against his headboard, and willed the thoughts from his dream to go away - skin upon skin, grazing of teeth, sensual touches striking every weakness he didn’t even know he had. Josh was so fucked. His body got even more feverish as he began to feel a small itch where his hardon was. He was grateful for the sheets covering the lower half of his body.

Josh also felt the need to touch his nipples like Tyler did the other day. He checked to see if anyone was in the room, made sure that the bedroom door was closed, and that there were no footsteps heading his way. It was completely silent, so Josh began to inch one of his hands up his chest, grazing his tiny fingers further up along his buzzing skin until a small bump finally fell underneath them. He bit his lip and began to rub the nub in small circles. A familiar warm feeling started to grow in his abdomen, making his dick twitch.

Josh closed his eyes, now confident with his ministrations, tweaking, rubbing, and even pulling both of his sensitive nipples hardening from the touch. Tiny mewls escaped his mouth, including long moans when his nipples were tweaked just right. He wasn’t sure why he was making those noises. They seemed to come naturally as the warmth spread throughout his body, rushing in his veins and causing him to shiver with pleasure.

“Josh?”

Josh’s eyes flew open when he heard his name be called from the other side of the room. He quickly removed his hands from his chest.

“T- Tyler” He nervously replied while getting situated underneath his sheets, his cock still throbbing in his boxers. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I was just checking on you,” Tyler explained while slowly walking over to a very embarrassed Josh. “I now see that you’re doing just fine.”

“I can explain.”

“No Josh it’s okay. I get it.” Tyler leaned down a little bit so he could be the same height of Josh who was blushing even harder now. “Did it feel good?”

Josh shyly nodded, and folded his hands over his extremly hard cock hidden under the sheets. “It felt good down here, and here.” He put his hand on his chest. “It felt good all over.”

“Well that’s how it's suppose to feel,” Tyler reassured while looking into Josh’s eyes in a comforting matter. “May I?”

Josh hesitated, but nodded and slowly took his hand away from his chest. Tyler took his own hand and touched Josh’s nipples the same way he did before - just the way he liked it. Josh bit his lip to stay quiet as Tyler quickened his movements. Tyler grunted in disapproval before using his other hand to remove Josh’s tiny lip with his index finger.

“Don’t hold it in baby boy. I wanna hear you.”

Josh moaned in response and urged Tyler to touch his other nipple at the same time. Tyler relented and began to play with both nipples, making Josh let out loud “ah’s” and whines from the touch. Josh couldn’t stop thinking about the bulge still hidden under the sheets. He just wanted Tyler to do anything to sooth the pain. It hurt so bad.

“Tyler” Josh panted while looking up at his boyfriend with tears in his eyes. “Tyler please.”

“What do you want?” Tyler asked, squeezing Josh’s nipple in such a way that had him arching off of the sheets.

“Need you to touch me,” Josh pleaded. “Please, touch me down here.”

Tyler looked down to where Josh’s hand rubbed over his erection.

“Are you sure Josh?”

“Tyler _pleeease_. It hurts.”

Tyler stopped touching Josh’s left nipple to lower his hand down his chest. He slowly removed the sheets and boxers from his lower half, revealing Josh’s tiny cock with a reddened tip resting heavily against his stomach. Josh gasped from the coldness that brushed over his cock. The relief was pleasurable, but he still needed _more_.

“Have you ever touched it yourself?”

“I… I usually wait for it to go away.”

Tyler internally winced at the thought of waiting out a boner. “Do you know what it means to touch it?”

Josh shook his head with a nervous look.

Tyler soothingly rubbed his two fingers along Josh’s thigh. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course”

“Good”

Tyler slowly inched his finger towards Josh’s cock.  “I’m going to make you feel really good.”

“Please do”

His finger finally landed on Josh’s cock, and Josh twitched from the touch.

“Shhh it’s okay. Stay still,” Tyler ordered before rubbing his finger up and down Josh’s shaft, adding enough pressure so that he was stroking Josh’s cock. Josh started to squirm.

“Josh what did I just say.”

“I- I’m sorry it’s just…”

“What’s wrong babe?”

Josh blushed. “I think it’s a little… too… dry?”

Tyler chuckled and removed his finger away from Josh’s cock. “Don’t be shy,” he said before sucking his finger into his mouth, tasting a little of Josh’s precum. The finger popped out of his mouth with a wet sound, making Josh blush even harder. “Next time just say so.”

Josh nodded his head, still not meeting Tyler’s brown eyes until the finger was back to stroking his cock. He began to make pretty noises again, gasping when Tyler would give his swollen tip a little attention before going back to his shaft. The warmth was everywhere. He could barely move. Josh lied there, letting Tyler pleasure him in ways he never felt before. Pretty soon, he felt this growing urge inside him as if he was working towards something great. He felt as if he was flying, trying to reach whatever was on the other side.

“Tyler?”

“Yeah Josh?” Tyler asked while sneaking a hand towards his own aching cock. He rubbed over the bulge through his grey sweats, grateful for the small sparks of pleasure sent to his dick. Watching Josh writhe against his sheets got him all hot and bothered. The man was like a pornstar, loudly moaning and just letting it all out as if no one was watching. He was a shameless whore, but so innocent - just wanting to cum so badly even when he’d never had an orgasm before.

“Something’s wrong,” Josh replied, feeling his stomach squeeze even tighter. “I- I think I have to pee.”

“Getting close already?” Tyler mockingly asked while letting out a few whimpers of his own, nearing his release.

Tyler... Tyler I can’t, it’s too much,” Josh mewled when Tyler sped up his finger, pressing down even harder.

“C’mon Josh. Cum for me,” Tyler purred while watching tears begin to slip out of Josh’s eyes as he neared his limit, reaching for something, reaching for something he _needed._   A few more strokes of Tyler’s finger had him feeling something he never dreamt of.

“Ah!”

His orgasm hit him hard, having him floating amongst the stars and losing his strain of thought. Josh’s body shook against the sheets, cumming so much that some reached his nipples and left streaks along his spasming torso. Tyler felt himself coming in his pants from the view of Josh’s red face, twisting with pleasure. He let out multiple moans while grinding up against his viciously rubbing palm. His legs struggled to keep him upright, and he was worried about Josh who he had stopped pleasuring, but was surprised to see Josh finishing the last of his orgasm himself, hand wrapped around his sensitive cock.

The sexual tension lessened when they resurfaced from their own seas of pleasure. Josh was panting against his dirty sheets while Tyler tried not to think about the mess in his pants.

“Tyler?”

“Yeah Josh?” Tyler replied after collecting himself.

“I want to make you feel good too,” Josh insisted before trying to sit up.

“Don’t worry about that Josh. You should rest,” Tyler insisted, trying not to let Josh know that he had already came in his pants. “How was it?”

“I don’t know,” Josh sleepily said. “It was… wow.”

Tyler smirked and finally sat up to go get Josh a washcloth, and change his clothes. He sneakily grabbed a pair of boxers and sweats before slipping into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. His face was still flushed from his orgasm, and a very noticeable wet patch of cum was on his sweatpants.Tyler groaned as he slipped off his dirty pants and boxers before kicking them away. He needed a shower.

In the shower, he washed himself like he always did with thoughts of Josh still flying around in his head. He was a bit worried though. What if Josh really wasn’t ready for that yet? Their relationship was progressing a bit fast, so it wouldn’t surprise Tyler if Josh was mostly scarred from what they’ve done. But Josh _pleaded_ to touch him. Was he suppose to tell him no? That’s what a responsible boyfriend would’ve done. Not to mention that he had also called him baby boy.

What was wrong with him?

He exited the shower when his thoughts began to get the best of him. He dried off, slipped on a new pair of boxers and sweats before wetting a washcloth with warm water. He took a deep breath before leaving the bathroom, unsure if he was prepared for Josh’s sad response to what he had done to him.

“Josh, I’m back,” he said when entering his bedroom. He was relieved to see that Josh was out like a light, softly snoring while lying naked on top of his bedsheets. Tyler blushed and tried his best to clean Josh’s stomach with the rag without waking him, but the wetness had him opening his eyes to see what was dragging across his torso.

“Tyler?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Go back to sleep,” Tyler coaxed while getting the cum off Josh’s nipples.

Josh blushed. “I should probably put some clothes on.”

“Let me finish cleaning you first,” Tyler said. “You came a lot.”

“It’s your fault,” Josh quickly replied while shifting around uncomfortably. “I think I’m clean now.”

Tyler moved away from Josh’s chest and got rid of the rag. Josh waited until he walked off to shakily change into a pair of boxers. He saw Tyler leaving the room.

“Where are you going?”

“To cook dinner,” Tyler said. “I was thinking that you probably wanted to rest.”

“I do but…” Josh played with his fingers. “Can I sleep in your bed this time?”

“Sure” Tyler uttered before carrying Josh to his bed. He sat him down on his pillow.

“Goodnight Josh.”

“Wait!”

Tyler turned around to see what else Josh needed.

“Could you lay down with me?”

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of Tyler’s lips. “Of course Josh.”

Tyler slipped underneath the sheets and allowed Josh to cuddle up on his chest.

“I love you.”

“I love you too Josh. Sleep tight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So um...
> 
> yeah.
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I actually don't have much to say this time hehe so I guess I'll see you next time. Sleep tight.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Tyler go to buy a cactus, but are interrupted by a rainstorm. The rainstorm leads to Josh's first snow day :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I am back with another chapter after being gone for ages. I really hope you like this one with Josh being super extra about snow and being dressed in a napkin dress. This one's a good one.

Josh huddled deeper into Tyler’s coat pocket to shield himself from heavy raindrops. Tyler didn’t know it was going to rain today. If he’d known, he would’ve left Josh at home where he could shelter away from the downpour, but of course their plan to buying cacti at the nearby nursery was sure to be interrupted with something that couldn’t be stopped. Tyler hurried to find the nursery, tightening his hood around his face to keep the water from soaking him completely.

When the store finally came into view, Tyler eased into a slight jog. His anxious, tingling fingers grasped the building’s frozen handle, pulling lightly, but swiftly to create a space wide enough to slip into the needed warmth. Tyler was panting, wet from head to toe, and was contemplating whether to just strip off his drenched clothing right there to save himself from getting a cold. His eyes finally snapped towards the startled cashier wearing a hesitant smile.

“Welcome to Ison’s Nursery.”

“Thanks” Tyler uttered with a weak smile before peeking down at Josh who was trying to fix his hair. “Do you have a bathroom?”

“Of course! It’s towards the back,” She said before returning to her laptop propped up in her workspace.

Tyler made his way towards the back of the store, sneakers audibly squeaking against the marble floors. Luckily, the bathroom was meant for one person only and came with a lock for privacy. Tyler made sure that they were completely closed off from the rest of the store before retrieving Josh from his damp pocket. Josh was visibly shaking, hair sticking to his forehead from the rain that trickled into his hiding spot. “This sucks,” Josh declared as he wrapped his arms around his tiny frame.

“I know baby, but don’t worry I’ll get you all cleaned up in a second,” Tyler cooed after taking off his coat. He grabbed a few kleenexes from a nearby tissue box. “Come here.”

Josh obeyed and tried to stay still as Tyler dried him off.

“Do you want to take off your jeans?”

Josh shifted around a little bit. His wet jeans were a bit uncomfortable, but he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to be so _exposed_ in such a public area. Tyler seemed to catch on to his internal conflict, and cupped the side of his cheek with his fingertip.

“Hey don’t worry about anyone seeing. You can stay in my pocket if you want, and I’m sure that we can cover you a little bit with these tissues. We don’t even have to stay here for long. I can call us a ride, and it’ll be waiting right outside for us when we’re done in here. Does that sound good babe?”

Josh nodded and nuzzled into Tyler’s finger to give him a tiny kiss to show his gratitude. Tyler removed his jeans and dried Josh’s legs. Josh was compliant and felt comfortable underneath the reassuring gaze of his handsome boyfriend. He just trusted him so much.

“Josh?”

“Hm?”

“Was last night… okay?”

“Of course!” Josh answered while looking up at Tyler with big eyes. “Last night was amazing. I loved every second of it.”

Tyler let out the breath he was holding. “Okay good. I was worried that it might've been too much for you. Although, you still looked very beautiful last night.”

He lovingly started to remove Josh’s boxers.

“I was waiting for a long time to see you, _all_ of you.”

Josh bit his lip as he stepped out of his wet boxers. “Tyler we're still in public,” he said while wrapping his arms around himself.

“I know, but you shouldn't be in these wet clothes,” Tyler insisted after taking off Josh’s socks and shoes. “I locked the door, so no one will see you like this okay?” He grabbed more tissues to cover Josh’s nude body.

Josh still felt exposed to his surroundings, but he trusted Tyler that this was for the best. Besides, those wet clothes were a bit uncomfortable.

In the end, Josh was dressed in a flimsy, paper napkin dress held together by just a thin rubber band wrapped around his waist. If a wind blowed, the outfit would break. If water spilled on it, it would be torn. The outfit wouldn’t last very long, but it was better than nothing.

“Our ride should be waiting for us outside,” Tyler said after receiving a text from their driver.

“What about the cactus?”

“Don’t worry about it Josh. We’ll come back another time.”

Josh walked onto Tyler’s hand to be placed back into his soggy pocket. He crinkled his nose at the wet patch he would have to withstand until they were in the privacy of the backseat of whoever’s car they would be riding in.

“I don’t want to go back in there.”

“Don’t be such a brat Josh. I’ll walk faster so you won’t have to stay in there for long.”

Josh cursed under his breath as Tyler carefully shoved him into his coat pocket. He also grabbed Josh’s wet clothes and placed them into his other pocket before checking his hair in the mirror once more, leaving the bathroom with wet puddles on the floor. Chase was waiting outside, sitting in the driver’s side of his black Subaru that was hopefully clean. Tyler was grateful that Chase at least didn’t look like a murderer. Perhaps the ride home wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.

-

Tyler filled a glass bowl with hot water and light bubbles. Josh was waiting on the counter with a paper towel wrapped around his waist. He was anxious as his skin itch from the smell of rain, and his throat was already becoming a bit hoarse. When he was done, Tyler helped Josh into the small bath before stripping to hop into the shower. They would’ve bathed together, but Tyler was afraid that Josh would drown in his big bathtub. The bubbles could be too big for him. The soap could get into his eyes and probably give him food poisoning in which could be deadly. Tyler would never forgive himself.

Tyler finished his shower just as Josh started drying off. They decided to take it easy tonight. Tyler was able to make hot chocolate for them both, so they could stay warm while watching reruns of their favorite shows in front of the crackling fireplace. There was a freeze warning designated for Ohio that would hopefully bring snow, which Josh had probably never experienced before.

As they watched tv, temperatures slowly lowered until they were below freezing. Josh was fast asleep when melting tears of the moon was snow dust, frozen droplets turning into flakes of white icy lace that clinged to the baron limbs of the tree tops. The snow, softly floating wisps of thin frozen mists, shifting ever lightly, gracefully unto the winds, tenderly aloft, free falling paper thin crystals of ice, cascaded downwards unto the frozen earth below.

  
Eventually, a kingdom of flickering diamonds was showcased beneath the lunar shine of the light hanging within the grey clouds above, a glittering field of gems illuminated by the elliptical sphere, called the moon. Tyler’s feet suffered from the cold, and soon he decided that they should probably go to his bedroom considering the waning flames of their dull fireplace. He gently scooped Josh up from his lap and carried him to his bedroom. Tyler made sure that Josh was nice and warm underneath the covers before drifting off into the inevitable.

“Tyler. Tyler wake up.”

Tyler cracked open his eyes from the prodding of his worried boyfriend.

“What’s wrong Josh?” He asked as he sat up from his soft pillow to lean against his bedframe.

“Isn’t it obvious? The world is ending!” Josh exclaimed while pointing outside. “There’s white stuff outside and it’s _everywhere_ Tyler. And then the people outside act like it’s completely normal. Don’t they know how deadly it could be? Tyler? Tyler stop laughing!”

Tyler was laughing out loud at his concerned boyfriend. “I’m sorry babe it’s just-” Tyler took a deep breath to end his laughter. “I can’t believe you’ve never seen snow before.”

“Snow?” Josh confusingly repeated before looking back out the window where light flurries fluttered in the cold gusts of wind outside.

“Yeah and it’s completely harmless.” Tyler added before slipping out of his bed. “Let me show you.”

Josh allowed Tyler to carry him all the way to the window keeping the snow from entering their home. Josh felt uneasy as Tyler lifted the window, shivering from the cold temperatures that nipped at his exposed arms and legs. His boyfriend brought him closer to the window so that he could stick his hand out. Ignoring the coldness, Josh stuck his hand outside to feel light flakes of ice, sparkling like glitter,  free-falling like rebellious tufts of cotton, nestle the palm of his hand. He stared in awe.

“See? They’re harmless,” Tyler said while trying to stay warm and patient as Josh observed the snow flurries piling up in his hand.

“It’s so pretty,” Josh noted. “Why have I never seen this before?”

“Maybe it just never snowed where you lived,” Tyler answered. “It’s super cold right now, so if you don’t mind me shutting the window…”

“Oh okay.” Josh held onto a finger as Tyler took him away from the falling snow. Tyler gratefully closed the window so that he could warm himself up.

“Looks like we won't be going outside for a while.”

“Well then what do we do?”

“We have a snow day,” Tyler answered while taking Josh back to his room. “Put on something warm while I make us breakfast.”

He dropped Josh off on his window sill before leaving to make French toast and hot tea. Josh chose to dress in the sweater given by Mrs.Thomas and the  fuzzy socks Tyler had surprised him with after coming home late from work. The warm, knit sweater made his heart swell with the absence of his past babysitters. He prayed that they were both okay.

Tyler returned with toast and tea and sat the plates down on the bed stand. He brought Josh over to his bed before putting him on the pillows.

“I present to you slightly burnt French toast and tea. Bon appétit,” Tyler jokingly announced before sitting beside Josh with his own serving.

Josh laughed. “I'm sure it'll taste just fine,” he said while holding his own shrunken breakfast.

After eating they rarely left bed for anything. Both men enjoyed the feeling of skin against skin. A small cough slipped past Josh’s angelic lips, causing Tyler to groan and nuzzle his face into the inside of his elbow. “It’s so quiet,” the Josh mumbled. Tyler shushed Josh, and carefully moved deeper into the coverings. No one talked, no one broke the silence because it was just too precious to break, as snow swarmed down onto the unlucky left outside. The snow fell quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will try to update more for you guys bc I feel like you deserve it. Pls like and comment and thx for reading.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Josh wakes up with a sore throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brendon is in this chapter so there will be a bit of profanity. I thought about this when buying cough drops the other day, and decided to write a chapter on it. I hope it isn't bad.

Josh woke up with a dry itch inside his throat. He was shivering, snuggling deeper into Tyler’s shirt to stop the trembles shaking his body. He let out a nasty cough that lasted for an unnecessary amount of time, and afterwards the pain in his throat only worsened. Josh sat up to wake Tyler in hope that he would know what to do; how to make him feel good again.

“Ty” Josh whispered, not really wanting to wake his sleeping beauty, but the nails in his throat told him otherwise. Tyler was just coming to his senses when Josh let out another ragged cough. His breath hitched, _that doesn’t sound good_.

“Hey, calm down,” Tyler coaxed, cupping his boyfriend having a coughing fit in his palms to sit up as well. “Deep breaths babe.”

Josh slowly slipped into deep breaths before looking up to Tyler with watery eyes. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he croaked.

“It's probably nothing sweetheart. What hurts?” Tyler asked while rubbing Josh’s back.

“My throat. It feels itchy, and it hurts to swallow.” Josh tried to clear his throat. “It really hurts Tyler.”

“It sounds like you have a sore throat. It was pretty cold last night and that rainstorm probably took a toll on you.” Tyler lowered Josh onto the pillow beside him. “I’ll go make you some soup alright? Try not to talk too much.” He climbed out of bed before walking to the kitchen. The snow storm had ended sometime yesterday, but piles of the ice crystals still lingered outside their apartment. The temperatures seemed to drop lower and lower.

Tyler opened a white cabinet stocked with canned goods. He moved the preserved food around in search for chicken noodle soup. After checking every can in the cupboard, Tyler ended his search with no success. He would have to go to the store, but the snow outside intimated him and made him shiver from the thought of being amongst the frozen sleet. Though, just a few feet away lied Josh, coughing up a storm and shivering from a sickness that was trying to take over his poor immune system. The soup would bring back the golden glow from his candy-sweet smile, cute enough to make Tyler’s heart do cartwheels.

Tyler settled for the latter.

Josh’s eyes lit up when Tyler returned from the kitchen, but his hands were empty.

“Where’s the soup?” Josh asked with what little voice he had left.

“I- there’s no more soup,” Tyler ashamedly admitted. “But don’t worry I’m going out to buy some more.”

“But there’s still snow outside,” Josh remarked. “You shouldn’t be going outside in this weather. Just stay here with me.”

“But you’re getting sick.”

“It’s just a small cough Tyler,” Josh retorted. “I’ll be fine.”

Fine? Josh definitely wasn’t fine. You could hear it in his voice as it was so frail, so weak that Tyler could barely make out what he was saying. A cough and sore throat should not be taken lightly, because before you know it, that _small cough_ is now something called a _cold_ , and then the _flue_ before being labeled as an unfair sickness called _bronchitis._ Josh couldn’t go see a doctor, and Tyler was certain that he didn’t have enough strength, enough mental stability to see his boyfriend _die._

“Josh don’t worry about me. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“So you’re going to leave me here all by myself?”

Tyler paused for a moment. His mind drifted back to rule number two in the rules Josh’s mom sent: _Never leave Josh by himself,_ but he couldn’t just take him back outside to the very thing that started all of this. Tyler refused to cause anymore harm to Josh, and if that included breaking yet another rule set by his mom, so be it. Newsflash: he didn’t care anymore.

“I guess so,” Tyler answered while slipping on a long sleeve shirt and jeans. “There’s no way I’m taking you outside when you’re already trying to get sick. Just stay there, and don’t open the door for anyone.”

“I can’t open doors.”

“Well then you’re going to be pretty good at this,” Tyler joked while tying his shoes. “I should be gone for no more than thirty minutes.” He dropped a kiss on to Josh’s head. “See you later.”

~

Tyler walked the dead sidewalks slick with snow as his headphones blasted some song singing about twisted thoughts and a girl falling away from the world. The song singed, _Oh, Miss Believer, my pretty sleeper // Your twisted mind is like snow on the road // Your shaking shoulders prove that it's colder // Inside your head than the winter of dead._ The song was his own, but the lyrics were so sad. Why was he always so sad?

He entered the snow-covered CVS with frozen fingertips and a heavy heart. The aisles were mostly empty, but luckily a few cans of soup still remained in the back of the store. He grabbed two cans before making his way to the front counter. The cashier seemed to be sick himself, sniffing ever so often as he groggily scanned the items. The germs made Tyler’s skin crawl. After paying, Tyler was about to continue on his way home but he was reminded that Brendon didn’t live so far away from the store. If Tyler was right, Brendon’s apartment was only a few blocks away. Now would surely be a good time to visit.

Tyler started to walk in the other direction, the flimsy paper bag from the store digging into his firm grip. Snow crunched underneath his dirty vans, and his breath came out in silver puffs that floated in and out of his mouth. He started to rethink his decisions. It was a relief to see Brendon’s building getting closer in the distance. Tyler entered the warm building and rode the elevator to the second floor. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been here. He did however, remember how broken he was, how much he just wanted to forget and get the pain and regret out of his veins. Tyler needed Josh more than anything.

He knocked on the door twice, and the door creaked open by itself without him turning the doorknob. The unlocked door left him feeling uneasy, but he still entered the apartment nonetheless.

“Dr. Urie?” Tyler called after closing the door behind him and locking it. The apartment was a mess with empty pizza boxes scattered about and cigars left in ashtrays left on dirty counters. The abandoned articles of clothing trailing to what Tyler assumed was Brendon’s bedroom really made him blush. Was this guy even a real physiatrist?

“What did I just fucking tell you?”

Tyler jumped to hear Brendon’s voice from his office located just around the corner.

“Look, I’ll have your money by tomorrow, so for now I would really appreciate it if you would stop being such a pain in the ass.”

Tyler crept around the corner to sneak a peek at the scene unfolding over the private phone call. Brendon was half-naked in grey briefs with his bare feet propped up on his dirty desk. His workspace was unorganized with pens and papers scattered all over. Empty soda cans peppered the floor along with socks and beer bottles. He didn’t look professional at all.

“All I know is that it’s currently 28 degrees outside. If you actually think that I’m going to drive all the way to your house just for a couple bundles of weed, you must be out of your damn mind. There’s 365 days in a year Tony. You’ll get your money.”

Brendon hung up the phone with a large sigh before reaching a hand down to scratch his stomach. He didn’t notice the figure standing at the entrance of his office until he reached for another slice of cold pizza lying on top of his closed laptop. _Uh-oh._

“Oh hey Tyler,” Brendon awkwardly greeted while quickly getting up from his comfy position to find his pants. “How did you get in my house?”

“The door was open,” Tyler explained before spotting a pair of grey Nike sweats abandoned on the leather chaise beside him. “Are you looking for these?”

Brendon accepted the pants from Tyler with a small blush. “Thanks” He uttered while slipping the clothing over his legs.

A pause.

“So…” Tyler said before taking a seat. “Are you really a doctor?”

“Of course,” Brendon reassured. “I’m just a little different than the rest.”

“A little?”

“Okay so maybe I’m not as professional as I say I am,” Brendon admitted before sitting across from Tyler behind his desk. “You can’t tell anyone about this.”

“And why not?”

“I’ll call the cops.”

“For what?”

“For breaking into my house.”

“The door was unlo-”

“Why are you here anyway?” Brendon blurted out. Tyler decided to leave the subject alone.

“I wanted to talk about Josh.”

“Oh okay. He’s a nice guy isn’t he? Like some kind of fairy or something.”

“I agree, but why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“That you were giving me a miniature human to take care of,” Tyler retorted. “I thought you were just giving me a pet or something.”

“I told you he was special.”

“But you weren’t very specific.”

“Okay, but you like having him around right? Tyler I was doing you a favor. All you needed was a friend.” Brendon propped his feet back on his desk.

“I had Mark.”

“No offense, but Mark was a little too bland-- boring. You needed a little change in your life, so I gave you Josh.”

To be honest, Josh wasn’t entirely the worst thing that ever happened to Tyler. He was just so unexpected, but was that really the thing that upset him? Maybe he was never upset from the start. Maybe he was just grateful.

“I mean, he isn’t the worst thing to happen to me,” Tyler admitted. “I actually kind of like him.” _A lot._

“See? It just takes some time,” Brendon said. “Why are you walking down these streets anyway? It’s below freezing outside. Go home.”

Tyler left Brendon’s home feeling reassured and a little scarred. He walked back home with the same plastic bag swinging in his right hand as the melting snow crunched under his shoes like before. Josh was napping on the pillow Tyler left him on. While he was asleep Tyler heated up the soup and broke a saltine cracker into tiny pieces for Josh to eat on the side. Josh finished his soup and crackers as Tyler told him about his journey to Brendon’s apartment and how many smoked cigars he counted in one ashtray alone. Josh laughed until his stomach hurt, and Tyler was laughing along with him, feeling pleased with his boyfriend’s lightened attitude. All he needed was a friend, but he got a lot more than he bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello as of now I'm officially out for winter break. I don't really have any plans for this week, so I'll probably be spending a lot of time on this fic. Oh and if you haven't I suggest subscribing to this fic to be notified when I post a new chapter if you want. Expect more soon~


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna lie, this chapter is probably the saddest so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am back with another chapter that is kind of sad. A lot of things happen, so try your best to keep up. I'm also sorry for being gone for a while, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it in some way. Thanks for all the support and please enjoy :)

It took two days for Josh’s sore throat to finally cease to an end. He shared the great news to Tyler as they were eating breakfast, making the taller one’s eyes light up.

“Really? That’s great Josh,” Tyler replied before getting up from his seat. “You should really have one more cup of tea though, just to be sure.”

“Tyler I’m all better now,” Josh insisted while watching Tyler grab his miniature mug to fill it with boiled water. “I’ve been drinking that tea for two days now.”

“Just drink one more cup Josh, or at least a sip of it.” Tyler blew across the mug to cool off the tea. “Please?”

“Fine.” Josh grabbed his tea from Tyler and took a few sips. “Are we doing anything today?”

“I actually have to go to work,” Tyler said while placing their dishes into the sink. “Mark suddenly isn’t feeling too well, so I have to cover for him.”

“Are you taking me with you?”

“I was thinking about asking our neighbors to babysit you. Surely Mrs.Thomas wouldn’t mind seeing you again. It’s been a while.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Josh uttered before sipping from his tea once more. Secretly, Josh loved the tea Tyler would make for him. The tea was probably the best part of his sick days, aside from the cuddles and kisses on the cheek that Tyler made sure to smother him with.

Tyler retrieved his phone sitting beside the stove to dial Karen’s number. The phone rung for a good bit before Karen finally picked up, politely greeting him with a weary “Hello?”.

“Mrs.Thomas, it’s so nice to talk to you. How’s it going?”

“Fine,” she replied before shifting the phone around. “How can I help you this morning?”

“Um, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind watching Josh this morning. Mark called in sick today, and I need to cover for him,” Tyler explained, hoping that the old lady would agree.

“Tyler I would love to, but things haven’t been so easy for me at the moment,” she informed. “I don’t think I should-”

“Josh misses you,” Tyler blurted out. “And he’s really sick.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, he’s coughing, sneezing, barfing, and basically anything else you can imagine. He needs you.”

Josh cleared his throat from where he was seated on the breakfast bar. Tyler silently shushed him by putting his finger to his lips.

“Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good,” Mrs.Thomas replied with worry. “I’ll be over right away with medicine and tissues. You can go on and take off honey, just leave everything to me.”

“Thank you. You’re a lifesaver,” Tyler said before making his final goodbyes before hanging up the phone. Josh glared at him with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You lied to her,” Josh scowled. “You literally just lied to an _elderly_.”

“How else was I going to get her to watch you?” Tyler replied while quickly putting on his shoes and jacket. “She will forgive me afterwards. Besides, you’re so frickin’ adorable she’ll probably forgot all about my silly lie.” He leaned down to kiss Josh’s cheek. “I’ll see you when I get home baby.” After that, he was gone.

Josh was finishing the last bit of his tea when his sitter cracked open the apartment door. It worried him how aged Mrs.Thomas looked. She no longer had that vibrant glow like before. She was grey, colder than the wind blowing outside, but it was all smoke-screened by the tiny smile she had put on her face.

“Josh, sweetheart, it’s so nice to see you,” she greeted while weakly hanging her tote on the back of a chair. “Why aren’t you in bed? Tyler said you were sick.”

“Well um, I _was_ sick, but now I’m feeling much better. I’ve been drinking tea.”

“I see.” The elderly beckoned her hand down to Josh for him to step on. “Let’s go sit in the living room then.”

-

Tyler entered work to see Mark not standing behind the front desk as usual. The store had an empty feel to it since it lacked its most lively person. It lacked personality, but it was still the same music store where Tyler felt like he belonged. This place was where Tyler could apply music to his wasteful life, and it was the only place where he could get paid for not going insane.

Calen was over in the strings department, making sure the guitars were rightfully displayed and the guitar picks were placed in order by color. Tyler walked over to the lanky worker with brown, shoulder-length hair. “Hey Calen,” he shyly greeted while trying to occupy himself with the guitar picks. He used to not be able to start a conversation. This was progress, and it was all thanks to Josh pushing him to go beyond his limits without even trying.

Calen nodded his head as a silent gesture. Tyler believed that Calen must’ve been going through something himself. All he knew was that Calen use to be in a band himself as the lead singer and sometimes guitarist. The band broke up about a year ago, so he was forced to buy himself a tiny town home and work in this small music store that only paid so much.

They worked in silence for the most part until someone finally entered the store. It was the mother from months ago and her son, holding a ukulele case in one hand while the other clenched onto his mother’s.

“Tyler! It’s been awhile,” the woman said, tugging her quiet son along as she walked towards Tyler. “I’m sorry we haven’t showed up for any lessons so far, but Caleb and I were dealing with some personal problems,” she explained while giving Caleb’s hand a squeeze. “I’m also aware that his lessons are only on Wednesdays, but he has a dentist appointment that day. Do you mind just giving him his lesson today? I just don’t want to cancel on you again.”

“Of course I don’t mind. The store is pretty deserted today, so I’m sure I can teach him a thing or two,” Tyler answered.

“Thank you so much,” the woman held out her hand. “I’m Nancy by the way, and my son here is Caleb. He’s a little shy, but I’m sure you two will get on just fine.”

“Nice to meet you again Nancy,” Tyler politely replied while shaking her hand. “And it’s nice to properly meet you Caleb.”

Caleb looked up at Tyler with his blue eyes before looking back down at his shoes and holding his ukulele closer to him. His mom gave him a little shove.

“Caleb say hi to Tyler.”

“Hi”

The mother shrugged when Tyler gave her a worried look. Though, he felt some kind of pull towards the child, as if the little boy was calling out to him. It would take a while to bring the boy out of his shell, but Tyler was very experienced with sitting in the dark and feeling like no one knew you, like no one _understood_. Caleb and him would get along just fine.

It took a while, but Nancy soon left Caleb behind and said that she would return after grabbing some lunch. Tyler eyed the boy with tears forming in his eyes.

“Hey don’t cry,” he said when the boy’s sobbing seemed to get worse. “She will be back alright? Please don’t cry.”

It must’ve looked pretty weird to see a man trying to comfort a crying child in the middle of the store. Calen even gave him a questioning look before turning away to go work elsewhere. If Mark was here, this probably wouldn’t be a problem. Mark was really good with kids and wasn’t as awkward as Tyler. Was he even really sick?

-

Josh and Mrs.Thomas were seated on the living room couch, watching an old comedy that Josh didn’t really understand. Karen tried to openly laugh at the man dressed in surprisingly casual clothing, but something was holding her back. Something was trying to force its way out of her, but she held onto it, rapidly blinking when the tears began to swell up. Josh didn’t point it out though. Later on, Josh was able to spot the one tear that sneaked out from Karen’s eye. She hurried to wipe away her defeat, but Josh had definitely saw.

“How are you and Tyler?” She asked after a minuet of collecting herself. Josh smiled.

“We’re doing great. Tyler asked me to be his boyfriend, and ever since then we’ve been closer than ever. He’s doing a lot better than he was a few months ago. Now I just need to get him to stop being so overprotective,” Josh shared before playfully rolling his eyes.

“That’s nice to hear,” the elderly replied with a little more color in her face.

She entered the kitchen about an hour later to make crisp turkey sandwiches to eat for lunch. She rambled for most of the meal, dancing around any topic concerning her husband for some reason. Josh listened to her talk about her crochet patterns, and even her plan of getting a cat in the future (Josh wanted a cat too, but the feline would probably end up eating him). The conversations were pretty boring for the most part. Mrs.Thomas had been lonely for far too long, but didn’t she have Mr.Thomas to talk to?

“How’s Harold doing?” Josh abruptly asked after Karen paused to take a sip of water.

“Harold is-” Karen tried to keep herself under control. “Sorry it’s just um… um…” The old woman’s hands started to shake, eyes watering, mouth drying from the dreadful news that held her captive.

“Hey it’s okay Mrs.Thomas. Calm down and take deep breaths okay? Watch the blood pressure,” Josh instructed with worry building up inside him. “You don’t have to te-”

“No, but I do,” Mrs.Thomas insisted. “You deserve to know what happened to him. Oh Josh, Harold had passed away last week. He died from heart disease.”

“Heart disease? Since when?” Josh asked, placing his tiny hand on top of Karen’s to softly pet the wrinkled flesh.

“He had been fighting with his weak heart for 3 years. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sweetheart.”

“No it’s totally fine. What he was going through was personal, and I’m sure it was a little rough to process his, y’now, passing,” Josh said, still comforting the elderly.

They sat there for a little longer in grief until Karen suddenly stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “I think it’s time for a little treat,” she said while getting out a mixing bowl and other ingredients. “I’ll make you some of my world-famous cookies.”

“With chocolate chips?”

“Why of course, anything for you darling. You have gotten far too skinny since the last time I’ve seen you.”

-

After an hour of practicing, Caleb was finally able to play Mary Had a Little Lamb by plucking each string. Tyler had built a friendly relationship with Caleb. They talked about music and the kids at his school who picked on him for being a “nerd”. He tried to give the boy a purpose to keep going, to see that there was an end, and that it would only be a matter of time until things started making sense. He would let him listen to the songs he played all those years ago, but the kid was only ten years old; the lyrics were too sad.

“There you guys are.” Caleb’s mom walked up to where they were seated on barstools. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah mom! Tyler is awesome,” the boy exclaimed while giving his mom a big hug.

Nancy was surprised to be encountered by her son that was strangely open and happier than he’d ever been. “O- Oh really?” she asked before hugging him back, chuckling after letting her son’s attitude sink in. “That's great honey. Oh that’s _so great_.”

Tyler awkwardly watched the family scene unfold. It reminded him of the time he was able to defeat his depression in highschool, and his own mother was so happy that he was finally getting answers and venting all his pain into something he enjoyed. He was seventeen at the time.

“I think it’s time for us to go home,” Nancy said once Caleb stopped rambling about his day.

“Can we get ice cream?”

“Of course,” She replied before paying Tyler his money and leaving the store.

Tyler had to admit, watching the two finally leave was sort of a breath of fresh air for him. Interacting with people he wasn’t so close to was always tiring, but at least he was getting paid this time. It was almost lunchtime, so Tyler grabbed his jacket before finding Calen hidden in his workspace. “Are sandwiches okay with you for lunch?” He asked. Calen shrugged and went back to plucking the electric guitar seated on his lap. Tyler muttered a small “okay” before leaving the store.

He walked down to the nearest sandwich shop where the small store was placed on the corner of Wyatt Street. The shop was small, but was known to sell the best sandwiches in Columbus. He entered the store and ordered two meatball subs. He had just finished paying before mistakenly bumping into someone who was also on their way out the door.

His mouth spewed apologies, “I’m sorry I didn’t see you there. It’s just I was on my way back to work, and I don’t think my coworker actually cares about running the front desk, and-” Tyler stopped in the middle of his rambling when he finally got a good look at the stranger's face. There _he_ was, still wearing that stupid leather jacket that Tyler used to love. There _he_ was, wearing an intimidating smirk, taking Tyler’s wrist when Tyler tried to flee, keeping him from running off when he too noticed who he had unexpectedly ran into.

“ _Princess_ , it’s so nice to see you again.”

Tyler could hardly breathe. He thought that he would never run into Nick after Twenty One Pilots, but here he was still holding his wrist with a tight grip. Nick was the last person he ever wanted to see. All he wanted was a sandwich goddammit, but he just _had_ to run into his ex that caused him so, so much pain.

“Let me go Nick,” Tyler strictly scowled with a lowered voice, but his eyes were not able to look up into Nick’s deep brown ones. He wouldn’t dare to see the fire probably still blazing within them even after all these years.

“But we’re just getting started here. Tell me, do you miss me babygirl? Because I do. I think about you every night,” Nick whispered down into Tyler’s ear. Tyler internally gagged at the poison breath ghosting over his neck.

“Why would I ever miss you? You’re an asshole. Go to hell.”

Nick certainly didn’t want to hear that. He grunted before forcefully tugging Tyler to the back of the sandwich shop and into the bathroom with dull fluorescent lights. Tyler whimpered when Nick shoved him up against the wall after slamming the door shut, hands mercifully held behind his back.

“It looks like my little pet has forgotten its place,” Nick growled while grinding his pelvis against Tyler’s ass. “Why don’t you cut the act already? I know you want me. I’m all that you ever think about, not Jenna, not even that weird friend of yours. Mark, right?”

“Nick, for the last time, I am done with you. I don’t love you anymore. Let. Me. Go.”

Nick swiftfully turned Tyler around before giving him a hard slap to the face. Tyler fell to the floor in seconds, cheek burning and reddened from Nick’s calloused palm. He tasted iron. The blood. The blood running out of his nose was all he could think about as Nick cursed him, kicking him all over until the fierce Tyler from earlier was shattered.

Tyler wasn’t ready to die though. He thought about Josh, waiting for him to finally return home. Josh needed him. He was all he had left, and he wasn’t going to let Nick take him away from him. When Nick finally finished his assault, nastily spitting onto Tyler’s curled up body to sweeten the pie, Tyler quickly got up from the dirty bathroom floor before bolting out of the shop, leaving his disgusting sandwiches behind.

His heart was pounding. The world spun as he tried to grasp the events that occurred just moments ago, but it was all slipping. All of it was slipping through the cracks in his head. As much as he wanted to spiral downwards, he knew it would be dangerous to do such an act in public. Tyler needed his pills, but his house was too far away as, he was rapidly running out of time. Darkness was already clawing its way into his bones, making him want to kick and scream to get it all out. _Get out!_

Tyler hurried to Mark’s house since it was the closest haven for him to get to. Tyler hoped that he wouldn’t be mad for him coming into his house like this, bringing all of his demons along. Mark never minded though. Besides, he should be use to it by now. Mark’s house finally came into sight, and Tyler hurried to climb each step to his apartment floor. His eyes rapidly search for the right house number, almost passing it along the way. He tried the door knob only to notice that the door was locked. Tyler hit his fist against the door out of frustration. It was almost too late.

He kept knocking on the door, but no one came. Luckily, the spare key to Mark’s apartment was still hidden underneath the mat. Tyler hurriedly retrieved the key before unlocking the door and barging inside with his medication being the only thing on his mind. The spare emergency pills were in the bathroom, so Tyler had to past the living room in order to go down the hall. He shakily began to make his way through the house, but the moaning coming from the living room seemed to stop him; the moan sounded so familiar.

Tyler snuck up on the couple half naked on the couch who were clawing away their clothes out of unsatisfiable hunger. He first saw Mark who hovered over his partner, groping her breast in one hand while the other was intertwined with hers. It was hard to see the girl’s face, but when they finally let up for air he saw her-- blue eyes and ash blonde hair. The girl was the one person he could now never forgive. The girl's name was Jenna.

Tyler’s gasp was heard by the sinful couple. Mark was first to respond.

“Tyler! I- I didn’t know you were coming over,” Mark stuttered as he hurried to put his shirt back on.

Jenna was flustered, scrambling to grab her bra that was thrown onto the coffee table. Tyler couldn’t take it anymore. He was currently living his worst nightmare, and it seemed to be getting worst and worst. Tyler watched Mark mouth apologies and curses. He watched him with a blank expression while the voice in his head pleaded, “Wake up! Wake up!” Tyler felt his lungs slowly giving out as his heart seemed to flood what was left inside of him. Tyler wished it would just break already.

The second Mark tried to put his hand on Tyler’s shoulder was Tyler’s cue to leave. His legs harvested themselves from their roots before taking him outside and down the complex stairs. He ran until he felt like he was far away from the chaos. Something hurt. Something was hurting deep within him, and he knew that it couldn’t be fix because he _just knew_. There were too many people in his head. He clawed at his body to get them out, to peel out the blackness spreading inside him.

He was running blind, ghosts swallowing him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know and I'm so sorry. I promise you that things are going to get better, just hang in there kay? I'm also going to try and get my second fic back up again, so look out for that. Pls leave kudos, and always feel free to comment and share your opinions. I love you guys. Stay tuned for more chapters :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't getting any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so the reason why this chapter is pretty short is because I'm using it to kind of get back into the swing of things. I'm sorry for disappearing, but end of course testing creeped up on me, and I was obligated to study for many days. However, I just finished taking my ap exam so I should be test free until finals \\(^.^)/ When school's out I should be posting regularly again. Thanks for being patient and understanding :)
> 
> *Warning*  
> This chapter includes self harm and a good bit of angst so please be careful~

Josh could barely handle seeing Tyler like this. He tried to help by reminding Tyler to eat and shower when the smell of death was just too much to handle. Even Mrs.Thomas pitched in by making meals for them to eat since Tyler gave up full responsibility of the task a couple days after his beating. He no longer kissed Josh and would sometimes play sad songs on his ukulele, letting the wind go quietly as his shell wasted away.

Tyler didn’t know his actions were hurting the people around him. Josh was hurting deep inside from the neglect. He went back to hugging his old friend Roger at night and wrote sad poems that cried rivers of loneliness and hope. What was harder than anything else was getting around the house without Tyler to carry him. Josh traveled by riding his tricycle when Tyler was too busy rotting away in his bed, taking the measure of an unmade grave.

He had Mrs.Thomas buy him the high roller from the toy store he once visited with Tyler. To shrink the bike he had to tell Karen about the shrinking powder, which was going against Tyler’s personal ruling, but Tyler wasn’t there anymore so Josh figured it would be okay. It would still take a good thirty minutes or sometimes even an hour just to make it to the kitchen. On some days, Mrs.Thomas would find Josh halfway up the hallway out of breath, legs tired from peddling his high roller for such a long amount of time, and would gratefully pick him up herself to carry him the rest of the way. She would plead for him  to just live with her while Tyler worked over this bump in the road. Josh would always decline her offer, explaining that he still loved his boyfriend and would stay by his side until things got better, but for how long?

Tyler didn’t mean to hurt anyone.

He didn’t mean to shut down and forget about the only one who still cared about him. Believe him, Tyler wanted to reach out to Josh whenever the miniature angel would plead for him to shower, eat, go outside, or even just to leave his bed for at least ten seconds. However, there was this wall inside of him splitting reality from what he should’ve been trying to cleanse himself from. This wasn’t the first time he had fallen into this pit, this ever-lasting slumber, this eternal winter that made the passing days seem longer and unbearable. The only thing keeping him from getting better was his stubbornness. He wanted help, but didn’t want pity. He wanted his life back, but didn’t want the pain.

Tyler’s phone constantly vibrated from the messages Jenna and Mark would send him; empty apologies that he no longer acknowledged because it was just too late. Nick would send him messages as well. The messages would sometimes be short and sweet before drastically changing into commands and curses that only made Tyler’s condition worsen. Josh didn’t know about Nick. Tyler made sure he didn’t know in order to protect him from what Nick was capable of doing. His ex would constantly make threats towards Josh, claiming that he would kill him if Tyler didn’t reply back to his harassment. Tyler never replied though, and Josh would always live to see another day.

Tonight was especially grim. Tyler had scars in all sorts of places, secret roadmaps of his wandering thoughts travelling through the sand dunes inside him, dust storms whirling through his oasis. Josh was sound asleep on his window sill, his presence giving Tyler this tiny emergency exit that he could easily go through; waking Josh up and asking him to grab onto him and never let go until these dirty, dirty thoughts left him squeaky clean.

This filth was alone.

This filth was not good in the world.

No one liked this filth.

He tried.

But his mouth was mush.

_Stupid world. Angry garbage._

Not one tear was shed as the blade pierced his skin. How long had it been? Four months? Tyler couldn’t remember. It didn’t matter anyways. His mind was stuck on the beautiful blood trickling with the cold water stream drowning him and his sorrows. Tyler found it kind of funny to be sitting on his shower floor fully clothed and close to blacking out from the cuts on his wrists. Tyler guessed they were life threatening. _Good._ He would now be squeaky clean. No more secrets. No more tears.

No more Josh.

Tyler was put back into his place when thinking about Josh. His squeaky clean angel had no place of being there.

“Tyler!”

Tyler frowned at the voice he wasn’t sure was really there. He could feel his boyfriend pulling at his heartstrings, pressing him to hold on and _stay alive_. Josh couldn’t be there. He was on his window sill fast asleep. Sleep. Tyer wouldn’t mind getting a bit of sleep himself. It was probably three in the morning after all, and the voices in his head seem to be snickering, finally quiet enough for him to erode into the wind. He slowly started to drift off.

“Tyler I’m going to need you to stay awake. Tyler!” Josh climbed in the shower and bit Tyler’s harm. Hard.

Tyler yelped and opened his eyes before preparing to swat whatever was there piercing his skin with razor-edged teeth.

“Fuck off,” he grumbled but was fully awake when he saw his boyfriend standing beside his thigh in the shower and giving him this _look_ that would make even Hitler feel guilty.

Tyer shut his eyes, letting out a slightly audible sigh. He was now embarrassed and yep, still bleeding from the various cuts that he now wished he could make disappear. How did it get to this? When did he even set foot into this bathroom? Tyler was so tired. He felt Josh climb into his pocket as voices coming from up the hall seemed to get louder. Tyler didn’t remember calling the police. Had he committed a crime as well? At least he wouldn’t be sitting in this cold shower anymore. He just wanted to get away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything will be alright.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There's an apocalypse inside of me."
> 
> "And I'm the cure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schools out!
> 
> Hey guys I'm back with a slightly better chapter. There's no self harm in this so you guys should be good. I missed you guys by the way~

Tyler had to squint when finally opening his eyes. Once again, he was seated in a hospital bed and tucked beneath the sterile sheets that reeked floor cleaner and disinfectant. His weary eyes searched the cage he was trapped in, acknowledging the empty chairs that were pulled up to his bed as a handprint left from whoever was crazy enough to see Tyler in this state. To the right of him sat a vibrant vase of  chrysanthemums flourishing in the bright daylight streaming through the blinded windows. A small card was placed beside the gift with the name “Jenna” rebelliously written in fine cursive.

Tyler cursed to himself before forcefully removing his gaze away from the sweet-smelling weeds.

After settling back down and relaxing, Tyler was finally able to hear the soft exhales of Josh pleasantly sleeping in his lap. His little, delicate prince was curled up to his pelvis, strangely looking so content against his white hospital gown. Tyler wished he hadn’t been around last night. Sure, Josh did save his life but the tiny human wasn’t suppose to see the acts of violence Tyler had done to himself. Tyler was suppose to protect him, not the other way around. His psychologist and Josh’s mom put _him_ in charge, but Tyler had let them both down by letting his stupid mind take over and leave him crippled. If Tyler could send Josh back, he would.

Tyler knew that was a lie.

Tyler was completely infatuated with Josh and had no intentions of letting him go. He was in too deep. The deafening silence in the room started to rock Tyler back to sleep. He took one last look at the angel resting against him, reassuring himself that Josh would be fine sleeping in such an exposed area before mimicking the unconscious figure, not knowing that his sleeping beauty wasn’t sleeping after all.

Josh opened his eyes once feeling Tyler’s body go limp underneath him. He exhaled and sat up to stretch his limbs. He couldn't sleep ever since he found Tyler submerged underneath the cold stream of water in their shower. It was just his luck that Tyler decided to sluggishly move to the bathroom right when Josh arrived in their bedroom to go to bed after another long day of taking care of himself. Josh paid no attention to him until he heard the sound of Tyler’s body dropping onto the shower tiles. It took him a while, but when he finally walked upon Tyler’s nearly unconscious body, he knew that last night was worse than any other. Mrs. Thomas had also heard the commotion before she could leave the apartment, and when she finally arrived to the scene, she was quick to call the police.

Today, Josh could barely stand seeing Tyler in the hospital. He blamed himself, but another part of him knew that was not true. He stayed with Tyler the whole time last night, using his size to hide away from the doctors in Tyler’s pocket. He was there when Tyler fought the nurses to let go of him, when he scratched the nurse trying to give him anesthesia, when Tyler finally went into the night, his dark eyes slowly fluttering shut. Josh wasn’t sure if they would ever open again. It was a scary event, but he made sure to stay out of sight in order to be with Tyler whether he was dead or not. He tried to calm himself by remembering the Grey’s Anatomy TV show Tyler and him binged that one time while waiting for the snow to stop. The thought did just the opposite.

He was the one who called Mark and Jenna to inform them about Tyler. It was Mrs. Thomas' idea though, telling Josh that Jenna and Mark should see what their actions had done to Tyler. Josh was unsure, but called them in spite. Jenna was first to visit. She cried after Josh had told her what happened. She explained to Josh that she didn’t mean to hurt Tyler, and that Mark and her were dating for a few months now. They were able to keep it a secret since Tyler spent most of his time with Josh. In fact, they started dating right after Tyler had brought Josh home for the first time. Josh was lucky that Tyler slept through their whole conversation, but he made sure that Jenna knew she would have to tell Tyler the truth soon. Jenna left the vase of flowers on Tyler’s nightstand and lovingly kissed Tyler's cheek before leaving the room, Josh’s crimson eyes burning into the back of her skull.

Mark didn’t show up until later that night. He had also felt bad for not being there for Tyler, but explained that he had tried calling him many times and sent multiple apologies via text. Josh didn’t know about any texts, so Mark opened Tyler’s phone to show him the messages he received. He first saw the texts Mark sent him. They were mostly apologies and reminders to take care of himself, while Jenna’s texts were also filled with apologies and the occasional strict order to text back to reassure her that he was still alive. Tyler never responded.

Mark tried to take the phone away before Josh could see the texts from Nick, but he was a little too slow. Josh was quick to stop Mark and tap on the last conversation that hadn’t been opened.

Josh wouldn’t be able to describe the emotions that rushed through him when seeing the abusive texts. The emotion he felt most was betrayal. He felt betrayed by Tyler for keeping this a secret for so long. He was probably trying to protect him from this so-called ex boyfriend, but Josh still believed that Tyler could’ve at least told him.

All of that anger from before no longer existed. Being here, cuddled up against Tyler’s fragile body and uncomfortable gown, made him grateful that Tyler was still alive. Mrs. Thomas had went home to take a shower and grab Josh some new clothes. She had been doing a lot for him these past hours. Josh would have to properly thank her sometime.

They're moment was interrupted by Tyler’s nurse that came to replace Tyler’s bandages. Josh was quick to shimmy underneath the sheets and crawl until he was safely hidden beside Tyler's leg.

“Good morning Tyler,” the nurse said while pulling up a chair next to Tyler, putting the materials she needed on the nightstand.

Tyler let out a quiet groan while waking up. He sluggishly grinned at the nurse, “G’morning Nancy.”

Josh eavesdropped on their small talk, happy to hear that Tyler's scars were healing nicely and that he would be able to go home today. The nurse was kind and handled Tyler with care before making her final goodbyes and leaving.

“Josh I know you're down there.”

Josh worked his way back out from beneath the covers with a sly smile. “Are you feeling any better?” He asked after settling back in his spot on Tyler's stomach.

“Yeah, much better,” Tyler replied before using his index finger to pet Josh. His smile faded, “I'm really sor-”

“Don't be,” Josh interrupted while leaning into Tyler’s touch. “I'm just glad you're still alive.”

Tyler's heart ached from Josh’s response. Underneath his breath he quietly replied, “Me too.”

“I just-” Josh stopped to keep the tears at bay. “I just wish you would let me help you. Things haven’t been easy for me these past few days, and I know that you’re going through a lot of things too. We- We need each other Ty. We need each other more than ever now, but I can’t help you unless you let me in.”

Tyler took a deep breath before softly exhaling. “Josh I feel really, really bad for avoiding you these past few days, but that’s how I am. Whenever something tragic happens to me, it’s like my body becomes cold and I enter this land in my infested mind. There’s an apocalypse inside of me.”

“And I’m the cure,” Josh answered while looking up at Tyler with determination. “I believe that I can save you Tyler. I mean, I may be a bit small, but I have a pretty big heart and it’s all yours.”

Tyler nodded, tears already rimming his tired eyes. “Okay… Okay yeah, I’ll let you in Josh. Just please be careful.”

“Of course,” Josh reassured before signaling Tyler to raise him up to his lips. He lovingly pecked the two rose petals. “I promise.”

-

Mrs. Thomas checked Tyler out two hours later before driving him and Josh home. She didn’t stay for long; making Tyler a good pot of tomato stew and grilled cheese sandwiches before leaving for a much needed nap. Josh wasn’t able to feed Tyler his food, so instead he cheered him on and praised him after every spoonful. Tyler was blushing all the while, insisting that Josh didn’t have to help him, but Josh would just ignore him. They then retired to their couch, snuggling underneath the comfiest blanket they had. Josh wanted to stay there forever and not ruin the moment, but he knew that they still had a lot to discuss.

“Tyler?” Josh quietly called from his spot on Tyler’s chest.

“Yeah Josh?” Tyler contently replied, almost making Josh reconsider what he was about to say.

“We need to talk about Jenna… and Nick.”

Tyler quickly tensed up, “Who told yo-”

“Jenna told me alright?” Josh answered while nervously pulling on his sleeve. “And Mark didn't mean to show me the texts from Nick, but I saw the conversation before he could close your phone.”

“What were you guys doing with my phone? When did Mark visit? How…”

Tyler's thoughts were all over the place, but Josh was quick to settle him back down.

“Shhh Ty calm down. I used your phone to call Mark and Jenna. It was all me okay? I did it.”

Tyler leaned back into the couch, his eyes shrinking back to their normal size, “O- Okay”

“Okay,” Josh repeated before sitting back down on Tyler's chest. “Maybe we should talk about this another time…”

“No, no I'm fine,” Tyler replied. “I might as well get it out the way.”

“You make it sound like I'm forcing you to do this.”

“Well this isn't easy for me to do Josh.”

“Then take your time,” Josh retorted. “I'm listening.”

Tyler ran his nervous fingers through his rustled hair, “Where do you want to start?”

“I want to know about Jenna,” Josh requested. “I know you guys had a relationship in the past, but why are you avoiding her? And then every time you run into her you always get these bad panic attacks or something. I just need to know why she has such a big affect on you… please.”

Tyler took a moment to collect his thoughts. Josh waited patiently for him to start, knowing that this was probably the first time Tyler has been so opened about his past.

“Jenna and I were in a relationship,” Tyler said while drying his sweaty hands on his sweatpants. “I met Jenna here in my hometown. She would come to a lot of my shows, but she always seemed unimpressed no matter what I did. For some reason I couldn’t get enough of that, and when I tried to use a pick-up line on her my voice cracked.” Tyler chuckled a little bit. “Soon she relented to being my boyfriend, and we dated for a while. She was sort of good with helping me through my _issues_.” A frown then reappeared on his face. “Our relationship was a little unstable because of that, but somehow we were able to make it all the way to our engagement. We didn't last long after that though.”

“Why?” Josh asked, clearly interested in what had been kept in the dark for so long.

“She couldn’t really help me I guess. Like, whenever I would have my episodes or share my lyrics and song ideas with her she would just stare. I wanted her to relate, comfort me, or at least critique what I was most passionate about, but I seemed to just to put more stress on her shoulders. Jenna complained to me once that she couldn’t sleep anymore, knowing that I _wanted_ to end my life even though all I needed was her.” Tyler swallowed the sob threatening to crawl out of his throat. “I felt like she never really listened to me, so I took my thoughts and ideas to someone else. That someone else was Nick.”

Josh cupped Tyler’s index finger in the palm of his hand. He knew that this part would be the worst.

“Nick was very understanding. He was the bass player for our band Twenty One Pilots. I- I fell in love with him.”

Josh felt bad for being Jealous.

“I don’t love him anymore of course,” Tyler corrected when seeing Josh’s reaction. “He was only a big turning point in my life. Never in my Christian life would I have thought of being gay. I mean, I knew I was different, but never in that sense. Nick helped me figure out the real me, and to accept it. He- He basically saved me Josh. Sure, he wasn’t the answer to all of my problems but Nick was like the breath of fresh air.”

Josh nodded, “I don’t like that he hurt you, but I’m also glad that he was there for you. He sounds like a nice guy! When did he turn on you?”

“Nick figured out that I was still dating Jenna while in our relationship.” Tyler explained, feeling better to finally tell Josh what was hidden for so long. “He of course didn’t like that and decided to confront Jenna after one of our shows. He punched her. I couldn’t believe it at first but Nick had actually punched Jenna who hadn’t really done anything to him. I was able to hold him back, but things just got worse. In the end, Jenna broke up with me two months before our wedding, so that I could move on to someone who would really make me happy. She made sure that everyone knew she was leaving so that I didn’t have to choose between her and Nick. I’m still very grateful for that.”

“That was really nice of her,” Josh agreed. “So Nick went back to being all nice and sweet right?”

“Oh no. Things remained really tense between us. He was just mad all the time and very possessive. I broke up with him before he left to Wisconsin. Twenty One Pilots was also dead at that point.”

“But why? You could’ve continued on with the band alone. You’re really talented babe.”

“Thanks Josh but there was no way I could’ve kept it up. Twenty One Pilots was a three person band. Having only one person would be weird.”

“What if there were two people?” Josh suggested.

Tyler arched his eyebrow. “I mean, it would've be okay. As long as I wasn't the only one out there. I can get really awkward sometimes.”

“One day,” Josh began while looking deep into Tyler’s eyes with so much determination. “One day I’m going to get bigger, and you and I are going to bring back Twenty One Pilots. I’m not sure how, but I do know that I want to be the same escape route that Nick was for you. I’ve always wanted to start a band with you Tyler.”

Tyler laughed at Josh’s seriousness. “Okay, sure Josh.”

“I’m serious!”

“I know you are.” Tyler leaned down to peck Josh’s head.

“Oh and Tyler?”

“Hm?” Tyler hummed.

“Did you know that Mark and Jenna were dating this whole time?”

Tyler sighed, “Yeah. I walked in on them doing it before coming home a few days ago.”

“Is that why you were so upset.”

“A little bit, but let's skip that for now.”

“Tyler what happened?”

“Nothing”

“Tyler I need to know,” Josh snapped. “Let me in.”

Tyler avoided Josh’s death stare. He had no reason not to trust him.

“I ran into Nick while on my lunch break. I tried to run, but he caught me before shoving me into the restroom.”

Something clicked inside of Josh, making his blood boil. “Did he? He didn’t-”

“Surprisingly no,” Tyler answered. “He just roughed me up a little bit, wanting me to say that I wanted him back. I refused and he hit me. I- I don’t know how he figured out about you Josh. I swear I never brought your name up.”

“I believe you Ty,” Josh reassured. “I’m just glad you’re okay, but you should start being extra careful when I’m not around. Promise me you won’t leave work to get lunch anymore.”

“That’s not necessary Josh.”

“No, but it would make me feel a lot better.”

“Okay I promise I won’t leave work until my shift is over,” Tyler swore. “Thanks for helping me out last night, and every other night. I’ve really abandoned you haven’t I?”

“Eh, it wasn't so bad,” Josh joked. “Next time just come to me alright? I’m here to help.”

“Of course Josh. I don’t want to shut down on you like that again. You don’t deserve it.”

Josh smiled at Tyler’s response, “Alright then.”

“Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :,)


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just a nice, lovely chapter... with smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm back with another saucy chapter. I really liked writing this one since it's a little more laid back and sweet. There is smut within this chapter so yeah, have fun. You can also skip it if u want. You won't be missing anything if u do. Anyway, just take this chapter as a small treat before things get serious again :)

Josh missed Tyler’s smile. Every time the pristine rows of white opaque were revealed from behind Tyler’s cherry tinted lips, buzzing waves of mutual happiness would instantly strike through Josh’s body, setting his skin aflame. Things were almost like before. Almost. Tyler would still have his moments, but Josh would always be there to pull him back out of his personal hell. They had each other, and nothing could ever tear them apart.

At this time, Tyler and Josh were seated in the back rows of a local cinema, where Josh had pleaded for Tyler to take him to see the latest horror movie. They bought stacks of candy, some that Josh had never tried before, and chose the most hidden seats so that Josh wouldn’t be noticed. Josh couldn’t stop eating the candy they bought. Tyler had already warned him to slow down, but Josh just waved him off.

“Jesus Josh slow down. Are you even paying attention to the movie?” Tyler tried once more while Josh licked his sticky fingers.

“Yeah, that girl just died.”

“How did she die Josh?”

“Ummmm,” Josh paused in thought. Maybe he should’ve been paying attention.

“Exactly! Stop stuffing your face and watch the movie.”

“Shhhh!”

Tyler’s head whipped around to the couple sitting not so far away. They were giving him dirty looks. Some other people in the theater were also staring, but with concerned looks. Oh yeah, they couldn’t see Josh.

Tyler slumped back down into his seat as Josh quietly chuckled in his lap. Tyler wanted to get rid of Josh’s mocking grin, but he knew it was only a matter of time until he would finally get his revenge.

Halfway through the movie Josh’s stomach started to twist in knots. His groans started off quiet, but as Tyler jumped more and more from the jump scares on the screen, juggling him around in his lap, Josh’s stomach became relentless.

“T- Tyler,” Josh hissed when his stomach was jostled around once more. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Shh Josh I'm watching the movie.”

“Tyler I’m _serious_ ,” Josh pressed, feeling the sweets from earlier threatened to spill out of his throat. “I- I’m gonna-”

“Wait, Josh give me a sec!”

But it was already too late.

-

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Tyler commented in disbelieve as they rode in the backseat of their Uber driver’s car. “I told you not to eat all of that candy.”

“And I told you I wasn't’ feeling so good.”

Tyler rolled his eyes before running a finger through Josh’s sweaty hair, pushing the hairs back away from his forehead. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah, just a little hot,” Josh replied while leaning against Tyler’s soft body.

“Don’t worry we’ll be home soon, and when we do get home, I’m going to run you a bath right away.”

“Can we possibly bathe together this time?” Josh hopefully asked, mocha eyes pleading up at Tyler through his short eyelashes.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Josh. You could drown,” Tyler replied while avoiding Josh’s tempting eyes.

“Not if we’re careful,” Josh retorted before taking Tyler’s finger out of his hair to peck the gentle skin.

“Can you swim?”

“A little”

“Alright,” Tyler relented, watching Josh’s sunshine grin return onto his face. “Let’s take a bath together.”

“With bubbles?”

“Yes, definitely with bubbles.”

-

Tyler sat Josh on their king sized bed, “I’m going to go run the bath okay? Wait here.” Josh watched as Tyler disappeared into the bathroom across the hall. His cheeks instantly reddened. Did he seriously throw up on Tyler? Sure, they were dating and Tyler seemed to take it pretty well, but nonetheless it was still embarrassing. The candy was worth it though. He had never eaten that much candy, not even on Halloween since Tyler feared that eating a lot of candy would have the same result of drinking two red bulls at the time.

So in conclusion, Josh still had a fun time. Being able to go to an actual cinema and watch a scary movie was something he could only dream about when living with his mom. He felt human. He was able to go on a _normal_ date with his _normal_ boyfriend, minus the hiding in Tyler’s pocket and almost drowning in a bowl of popcorn.

Tyler returned shirtless and his arms were wet up to his forearm.

“Are you okay?” Tyler asked after walking in on Josh who was lost in his thoughts.

“I’m fine,” Josh replied before Tyler picked him up to carry him to the bath that awaited them.

The bath wasn’t exactly romantic, but you could tell that Tyler had put in a couple luxurious oils and bath salt to sort of set the mood. A couple candles were also lit around the tub. The sweet jasmine scent swirling from each candlestick massaged Josh’s senses so that he was already feeling the tranquility even from outside the bath.

“I didn’t mean to make it this romantic, but I found some candles and oils from underneath the sink and I didn’t want them go to waste,” Tyler explained with a faint blush on his cheeks. “If it’s too much I can blow out the candles and make something less intense.

“No don’t,” Josh begged. “I- I like it. It smells really good Ty.”

“I’m glad,” Tyler replied before lowering his head to give Josh a tiny kiss. “Let’s get out of these clothes.”

Josh’s heart started to beat a little bit faster. He watched as Tyler peeled off his black skinny jeans, finally able to see all of his long legs that glowed underneath the candle light. His shoulder blades were defined. His tattoos were the perfect contrast against his gentle skin, acting as charcoal spotting rushing rows of golden, molten lava. Tyler then hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of his striped boxers. Josh’s eyes quickly darted away. He was so not ready for that.

“Josh, are you almost done?”

“Y- Yeah” Josh replied as he quickly undressed. He took a deep breath before turning back around to face Tyler’s exposed body. He wasn’t well built, but that seemed to make his body look even better, as if he was made to hold and mark up. His waist was a tad bit feminine, but the rest was just like a teenage boy’s body with just the right amount of muscle to have Josh sweating.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Tyler mumbled before walking over to Josh with his head ducked. He reached out his hand.

“I’m sorry it’s just- You’re _beautiful_.”

Tyler’s blush deepened, “You’re obviously the better looking one here Josh.”

“Nu-uh”

“It’s the truth Josh.”

“Let’s just get in the bath.”

“Okay okay I’m going,” Tyler said after Josh stepped onto his hand.

He slowly lowered himself into the bath filled with bubbles, sitting Josh onto his closed knees that peeked out from underneath the water. Josh steadied himself on the tiny island before dipping his legs into the water, trying not to slip in. “This is nice,” he said while leaning back on his hands. “We should do this more often.”

“I agree,” Tyler replied while in his own tranquilized state.

“So um… Tyler?”

“Yeah Josh?”

“I was thinking about finding my mom,” Josh told Tyler while nervously wiggling his toes underneath the water. “Y’now, to get bigger.”

“But I like you like this,” Tyler replied.

“I know, but I’m not exactly happy like this. My mom shrunk me without my consent remember? I mean, it’s not exactly terrible, but I still feel like I’m limited.”

“I’ll still love you either way. You do know that right?”

“Of course! I’m doing this for me,” Josh explained. “I know she’s out there somewhere. Brendon probably knows.”

“Yeah if he can remember,” Tyler scoffed. “Just know that I will always support you 100%. We’ll figure something out okay? Besides, I owe you one. Wait, what about the letter she sent us? Surely there's an address from the mailer.”

“There's no use,” Josh uttered before letting his eyes drift down below Tyler’s waistline. He licked his lips.

“What are you staring at Josh?” Tyler smugly asked.

“N- Nothing! It’s just been a while since…”

“Since?”

“Don’t make me say it,” Josh pleaded. “You know what I want,” he then mumbled.

“That I do,” Tyler mocked before scooping Josh up into his cupped palms, bringing him in for a passionate kiss.

The heat from the bath water was getting to Josh. His skin tingled as Tyler wasted no time to circle his nipples before giving them a playful pinch. Josh moaned into Tyler’s mouth, hips bucking as his crotch hardened. Tyler continued his torture, flicking and pinching the two perky bits of skin before breaking their heated kiss to swirl his tongue over each bud, soothing the delicious pain.

Josh clawed at Tyler’s face, holding onto the skin as tiny jolts of pleasure shot up his spine. His voice cracked when he finally asked, “Tyler, can you touch me down there?” Tyler relented and lowered his tongue down Josh’s torso until it was teasing his lower abdomen, centimeters away from his dick. Josh bucked his hips, but Tyler maneuvered him so that he was lying on his back in Tyler’s right hand while the other was used to hold Josh in place. He finally gave Josh what he was asking for, swiftly licking at his hot, throbbing cock that twitched after the short assault.

“Oh!” Josh exclaimed before trying to get Tyler’s tongue right back where he needed it most. He was skillfully restrained though, forced to stay still like a good boy and take whatever Tyler felt like he deserved. Tyler repeated his little method until finally giving in, engulfing the hot flesh and sending Josh into a frenzy. He lovingly worked the cock just right, taking his time to run his tongue over every patch of skin.

“Y- Yeah. Just like that Ty,” Josh praise with his head leaned back. He wanted to grip onto Tyler’s hair, but his hands were too small, so he instead gripped onto the finger keeping him in place.

Tyler began to intensify his movements, adding more suction and moving his tongue at a rapid pace. He could feel Josh tense up, his body winding back like a catapult, his moans getting louder and louder…

And then he stopped.

Josh embarrassingly whined when the pleasing warmth from before was ripped away from him. He confusingly looked up at Tyler, his face looking so wrecked.

“Turn around babe with your pretty ass facing me.”

Josh panted while shakily getting onto his hands and knees, his back dipped down so his ass was unashamedly presented to Tyler. He was a bit nervous, but believing that Tyler knew what he was doing. Josh jumped when unexpectedly feeling Tyler’s hot breath ghost over his puckered hole. He then felt his boyfriend’s tongue slowly lap over his hole, making him weak in the knees from the lingering pleasure. “Again,” he gasped.

Tyler repeated his action with more confidence. Josh moaned as the tongue didn’t leave this time, continuing to move back and forth along his quivering hole. Tyler was lost in the taste of Josh. He had been wanting to do this for a while now, and it was just as good as he expected. Josh wrapped his hand around his red-tipped cock, viciously stroking to get closer to his release once more. Tyler then pressed his tongue forcefully against Josh’s hole. He pressed on it over and over again until the tip of his tongue finally slipped inside.

“Uh!” Josh exclaimed, now feeling the tip of Tyler’s tongue moving around inside of him. He tightened his grip around his cock, stroking faster and faster along with the delightful tongue tasting his velvety walls. The room smelled of jasmine and sex, adding to Josh’s need to just cum already. Josh could hear the splashing of water from behind him, the sound of Tyler’s hand wetly sliding over his cock. He was now incredibly turned on, knowing that they were both pleasing themselves in sync. It was just so hot. Tyler was just so… so....

“Ah… ah… ah!” Josh moaned as he finally reached his release. He could feel the vibrations from Tyler’s tongue as he also moaned while spilling his cum into the lukewarm bath water.

They both rode out their releases. Josh was no longer able to hold his legs up, so he just lied down on his stomach, covering himself with his own hot cum. He couldn't stop the trembles shaking through his body. Tyler was just about as wrecked as him.

“That was… so good,” Josh panted. Tyler shakily chuckled behind him.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” Tyler replied. “I guess we should bathe for real huh?”

“Nah, let’s stay like this a little longer. Can’t move.”

Tyler could only laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A have a lot of cool stuff planned after this chapter so hold on tight~

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is a new fic but with tiny!josh this time \\(^.^)/ I made this for the ones who might've not liked my other tiny!tyler fic Life As Short As the Falling of Snow because it was possibly a bit too sinful *clears throat* but anyway feedback is always appreciated and expect more soon.


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